Otesánek (2000)

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)

A little slow towards the end, but still very funny

I liked this film very much. As with most comedy/horror films, the plot is fairly absurd. An infertile couple is desperate for a child. When the husband digs up a tree root vaguely resembling a child the woman loves it so much that it comes to life, and life begins to imitate a frightening fairly tale. It gets pretty slow towards the end, and would have been an even better film had it been about 25 minutes shorter. But, the film is great fun to watch, especially the performance of the woman playing Little Otik's mother, who is just insanely funny in the protection of her "son".

It's certainly not the best of it's kind, but it is a hilarious, twisted nightmare of a tale that fans of the genre will likely enjoy.