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Otesánek (2000)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
25 January 2001 (Czech Republic) morePlot:
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. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
6 wins & 8 nominations moreNewsDesk:
Lunacy and Sheitan (Tribeca Flashback Review)(From Fangoria. 21 April 2009, 12:35 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Quite good, but I wish Svankmajer would use more animation more (47 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Greedy Guts (International: English title)Little Otik (USA) (festival title)
Olesánek (Australia)
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Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
132 min | Italy:125 min (Venice Film Festival)Language:
CzechColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby Digital EXFun Stuff
Quotes:
Bulankova, the social worker: Show me your Otik. That's his name, isn't it? Don't worry, i won't eat him. moreFAQ
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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.