Otesánek (2000)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Jan Svankmajer

Writers:

Karel Jaromír Erben (fairy tale) and
Jan Svankmajer (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 January 2001 (Czech Republic)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Horror

Plot:

When a childless couple learn that they cannot have children, it causes great distress. To ease his wife's pain, the man finds a piece of root in the backyard and chops it and varnishes it into the shape of a child. However the woman takes the root as her baby and starts to pretend that it is real. When the root takes life they seem to have gained a child; but its appetite is much greater than a normal child.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Absurd | Pregnancy | Bottle | Folk Tale

Awards:

6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Veronika Zilková	...	Bozena
Jan Hartl	...	Karel
Jaroslava Kretschmerová	...	Alzbetka´s Mother
Pavel Nový	...	Alzbetka´s Father
Kristina Adamcová	...	Alzbetka
Dagmar Stríbrná	...	Pani spravcova (mrs. caretaker)
Zdenek Kozák	...	Mr. Zlabek
Gustav Vondracek	...	Mladek, the postman
Arnost Goldflam	...	Gynaecologist
Jitka Smutná	...	Bulankova, the social worker
Jirí Lábus	...	Policeman at station
Radek Holub	...	Young postman
Jan Jirán	...	Karel´s co-worker
Zdenek Palusga	...	Uniformed policeman
Frantisek Polata	...	Plainclothes policeman

Also Known As:

Greedy Guts (International: English title)
Little Otik (USA) (festival title)
Olesánek (Australia)

Runtime:

132 min | Italy:125 min (Venice Film Festival)

Country:

Czech Republic | UK | Japan

Language:

Czech

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Australia:MA | Japan:PG-12 | UK:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Knovíz, Czech Republic

Company:

Athanor

Quotes:

Bulankova, the social worker: Show me your Otik. That's his name, isn't it? Don't worry, i won't eat him.

Movie Connections:

References "Twin Peaks: Pilot (#1.1)" (1990)

Quite good, but I wish Svankmajer would use more animation

Perhaps Jan Svankmajer is sick of the medium of stop-motion animation which first made him famous. Perhaps he's trying to move into pure filmmaking. And perhaps I shouldn't criticize him for that. He's actually an excellent live-action director as well, which Little Otik (in Czech "Otesanek," "Greedy Guts," the name of an Eastern European fairy tale from which the script is adapted) demonstrates. But I'm not sure he wants to leave stop-motion animation behind. It seems to me more like he wants to use it more often in the film, but he didn't have the money. If you're interested in Svankmajer's work, start with his short stop-motion films, then move to Alice, his version of Alice in Wonderland, and then move to this film and then Faust.

As for the film itself, it's imperfect. Its biggest problem is that it's overlong. There's really not enough meat in it (well, there's enough meat literally). It can move slowly, especially nearer the beginning. Also, the ending is a bit abrupt. Still, there're a lot of great scenes and set pieces. It can also be very funny. It's certainly the most humorous side of Jan Svankmajer that I've seen. 8/10.