Little Otik is a new development in Jan Svankmajer's film-making. Alice and Faust concentrated mostly on the animation aspects and had provided the director with narratives from literature; and the actors existed mostly to justify the existence of the narratives. Conspirators of Pleasure showed he could create an original and fascinating story with live characters. Little Otik is based on a Czech fairy-tale, but rewritten for modern times, and it's more focused on drama and the characters' psychology. It has dialog. In many ways, it's Svankmajer's most conventional and straightforward movie. I don't say that as a compliment.A childless, infertile couple fantasize about having a baby. The opening sequence lovely peers into the mind of Karel, the husband, as he daydreams about a street vendor fishing children from a tank, weighing them, wrapping them in newspaper and selling them to customers, much like fresh fish. The wife, Bozena, compulsively knits baby clothes. One day Karel chops a tree root until it resembles a child. It's supposed to be a joke, nothing more. But Bozena obsessively takes hold of it and starts treating it like a real child. Miraculously the sculpture gains life, but it has a carnivorous hunger and soon only humans can satisfy it.It's a creepy premise; in lesser hands, it'd be a campy B movie. In Svankmajer's hands it becomes a tale of obsession, madness, sacrifice and love in a weird way. But there's a feeling we've seen this movie before, when it was called Little Shop of Horrors or Delicatessen. Like these movies, it finely mixes horror with comedy. The supporting cast, the neighbors, are all amusing with their little eccentricities.Otik, the creature, is obviously amazing, like any animation by Svankmajer. With each person it eats, it grows larger until it's a giant. Never once it seems absurd or fake. And then there's that disturbing mouth, a hole really, in which teeth, a tongue or an eye can appear and disappear arbitrarily, with eerie effect.A movie well worth watching, but perhaps a disappointment for a Jan Svankmajer fan.

What can I say? I laughed as I cringed. Svankmajer again delivers wit seasoned with alarming imagery, or is it the other way round? While all of the acting was superb, I must single out Miss Adamcová for special notice for her subtlety and humor.Little Otik himself was a remarkable vision, the stop motion animation lending a sense that he existed outside of ordinary space and time.To my fellow Americans: yes, this is a "foreign" film, an "arty" film, but do not be put off from seeing it because of that! This is an amazingly funny film that will evoke squirms as well. Actually, of the films of Svankmajer's that I have been privileged to see, this one is the most mainstream in general feeling.

Anti-spoiler warning: Do _not_ see the film's trailer, it spoils the film dreadfully. And this is one film which you don't want spoilt.This is a long film, in places utterly absorbing, in others quite shocking, in many places extremely funny, but alas rather predictable and a little repetitive too. On the whole quite a work of art. And oh so Czech too, which is nothing but a complement, in particular for the brilliantly executed and highly amusing animation of Otesánek.There are almost no weak roles, or weakly acted roles, and no matter how crazy people's actions or decisions might be, they all seem to be quite in character. In particular look for excellent performances from Veronika Zilková as the "mother" Bozena, struck with a terminal case of wannabe-breeder rabies. The change in the interplay between the young girl Alzbetka and the very old Mr. Zlabek is superbly done - both having their time as the creepy one, and both as the innocent one.This was going to get an extremely high score (and I tend to vote low on the whole), until the ending appeared, and went. I thought it cheapened the film slightly, but I still gave it a pretty good score nonetheless.

Karl Horak and his wife Bozhena are unable to have a child;the man carves a stump of wood into something that resembles a baby,and little Otik comes to life.Bozhena loves it with all she has and they name Otik.But Otik's appetite grows and grows,it soon devouring the cat,the postman and neighbors.Only the neighbor's inquisitive daughter realizes that the Horak's have given birth to an Otesanek,a creature from fairytale that supposedly grew in size devouring everything around it."Little Otik" by Jan Svankmajer is a wickedly humorous film.Svankmajer's traditional obsession with rampant consumerism and folk tales is clearly visible.Veronika Zilkova gives an absolutely hilarious performance,treating the piece of wood as though it were a baby with steadfast certainty-bathing it,clipping its nails,changing its diapers,rubbing cream on its butt.A must-see for fans of surreal world of Jan Svankmajer.