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Little Otik (2001)
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Reviews Counted:42
Fresh:35
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Though rather overlong, Little Otik is a whimsical, bizarre treat.
Theatrical Release:Dec 19, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: Jan Svankmajer's fourth feature is the story of a thirtysomething couple who, despite their infertility, yearn to have a baby. When Karel (Jan Hartl), the husband, digs up a stump that resembles a... Jan Svankmajer's fourth feature is the story of a thirtysomething couple who, despite their infertility, yearn to have a baby. When Karel (Jan Hartl), the husband, digs up a stump that resembles a newborn, he varnishes it and presents it to his wife, Bozena (Veronika Zilkova), hoping to comfort her and fill the void in their lives. To his astonishment, Bozena immediately begins treating the stump like a real child, and the two dub the stump Otik. Karel's astonishment grows when Bozena manages to nurse Otik into a mewling, living baby, a newborn with a wooden body and a voracious appetite. It isn't long before Otik devours the family cat and the postman, forcing the couple into a quandary. However, Alzbetka, their precocious pre-adolescent neighbor, has discovered the couple's secret by reading a Czech folk tale that parallels the strange occurrences next door, giving the young girl an idea of her own for Otik. As in Svankmajer's superb 1996 film CONSPIRATORS OF PLEASURE, the director uses his trademark stop-motion animation sparingly and focuses on his characters' desires, invariably making them seem perverse (food is always particularly grotesque in Svankmajer's universe). Brilliant, funny, and frightening, LITTLE OTIK is a wonderfully entertaining and disturbing film. [More]
Starring: Veronika Zilkova, Jan Hartl, Kristina Adamcova, Jaroslava Kretschmerova
Starring: Veronika Zilkova, Jan Hartl, Kristina Adamcova, Jaroslava Kretschmerova, Pavel Novy
Director: Jan Svankmajer
Director: Jan Svankmajer
Screenwriter: Jan Svankmajer
Studio: Zeitgeist Films
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Reviews for Little Otik
A fairy tale for adults, Otik is demented and heartwarming in that particular and unique Svankmajer fashion.
There is an inherent humor to the premise, though there is a concrete desperation at the heart of Little Otik.
Like many Disney films, Little Otik is based on a classic European folktale, but while Disney cleans these stories up into candy-coloured moral fables ready to be adapted into breakfast cereals and ice shows, Svankmajer eagerly plunges into their d
Unfortunately, at more than two hours, all of this is a bit too much.
While there's not quite enough in the story to justify the film's length, Little Otik is a very funny satire on family ties, apartment living and conspicuous consumption.
a disquiet amalgam of Little Shop of Horrors, Dead Alive, and Raising Arizona, with a splash of the Brothers Quay to push it right over the edge.
Svankmajer has created a bizarre cinematic treat that pokes fun at obsessive consumer culture.
A sublime, blacker-than-night comic meditation on the insistent demands of a youngster's love and the complete loss of control inherent in starting a family.
An enjoyably absurd bit of Grand Guignol, that often underlines the obvious.
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