CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Lee Eisenberg After watching Jan Švankmajer's "Otesánek" ("Little Otik" in English), all that I can say is "What the hell did I just watch?" Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good movie, just one of the more twisted movies out there. Jan Hartl and Veronika Žilková play an infertile Czech couple who adopt a tree stump as a baby...only to see it come to life and start eating everyone who crosses its path! Yes, it's mainly a black comedy from the master of weird animation, but while watching the movie I got the feeling that it was also looking at the residual effects of the Soviet occupation, as people eat rotten-looking porridge. It also seemed as though the girl befriended Otik out of a feeling of alienation from her parents (the same sort of reason why the children in Stephen King's novels join up with each other). Whatever the case, I liked the movie. But just remember, it's a VERY disturbing movie.

tmaj48 Many filmgoers learned their fairy tales from the works of Walt Disney--sanitized, family-friendly versions of stories which were, in their original incarnations, often violent, grisly,and grotesque. This film definitely isn't Disney! "Little Otik" is a modern take on an old Czech fairy tale, and it is every bit as gruesome as the original Grimms' fairy tales and other folktales were fashioned to be, before they were diluted into innocent kiddie stories full of big-eyed princesses and cute, wisecracking animals. The story concerns an infertile couple who discover a tree stump with a vaguely human form and, in their desperation for a child, begin to dress it up and treat it as a baby. Like Pinocchio, the stump comes to life; unlike Pinocchio, it has no interest in singing and dancing. Instead, it likes to devour anything and anyone who comes near it. Oh, and Otik is also not the type of character whose image is likely to be licensed for toys, storybooks, children's bedsheets and the like--in fact it's one of the most hideous creatures in the history of film.Like many a fairy tale, it's up to one little girl who uses her wits to try to save the day--or at least the remainder of the cast from being eaten. It's an ugly job, though. And there's not much chance of a happy ending.For devotees of mythology and folktales, this is a great example of what those stories were REALLY like. Yikes!

Phil Carmody (FatPhil) 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.

bonepilot My wife and I missed the beginning of the movie, and truthfully, the only reason she called me in to see it was so I could determine the language the characters were speaking. I figured it to be Czech, Yugoslavian, or some Eastern European country. I only knew it was NOT Russian.However, three minutes into the movie, I was hooked by the bizarre visuals, camera close-ups and acting ALONG with the language. It suddenly dawned on me that this was a strange, Czech Republic "black comedy", and since I was unfamiliar with Jan Svankmajer's works, I became absorbed by the story of a young couple who yearn to have a baby. In an attempt to lessen his wife's severe maternal needs, the husband provides her with a tree root that is shaped roughly like an infant. From there, I thought this was going to be a psychological treatise on the barren woman syndrome. How surprised I was to find out that she actually treats her "baby" as if it were human!At that point onward, I kept chuckling, laughing and cringing much the same way I did in "Little Shop of Horrors". I was kept on the edge of suspense, as the couple try to hide the "baby" from their apartment building neighbors. This becomes a complete disaster when it is discovered what a HUGE appetite the "baby" has, and leads to comic misunderstandings,and macabre ideas alike.The ending, which in my opinion was too long in coming,was fairly well anticipated... but a weird relief just the same.These actors were solid and likable, and the culture and living conditions of the "typical" Eastern European middle class were very interesting. With a little bit of horror, and a lot of laughs, "Little Otik" kept itself remarkably buoyant!