Otesánek

I had the good fortune to see this at a special showing in Washington introduced by the director. I just wanted to say that I found it fascinating, very funny, and pretty unnerving at moments. Friends of mine had recommended Svankmajer's animated works, which I have yet to see and hopefully will be able to track down and watch.

I love the visual effects-- they don't have the polished look of digitized Hollywood extravaganzas, but they have a curious, unruly life to them which I found infinitely more interesting. This is a sharp, funny, likeable yet disturbing folktale on film, and I strongly recommend those with a taste for the unusual seeking it out.