Little Otik (2001)
Like "Eraserhead"
and "Day of the Locust" and "Happiness,"
"Little Otik" is one of those indescribable films that
is as horrible and troubling as it is revolutionary
and bedazzling. Based on a Czech fairy tale, "Little
Otik" shows just how fucked-up the folklore of other
cultures can be. The Europeans really seem to love scarring
the shit out of little children. Like a Grimm Fairy
Tale on crack, this legend involves a tree stump come
to life which eats people. But then, there's a bit more
to it than that.
The story kinda ruins the film if you know it ahead
of time. The film is just a tad over 2 hours long and
it might only really be enough material for a short
film. It drags on and on in places. So, if you don't
want the plot ruined for you, I'd suggest seeing the
film before reading too much about it. For those who
are carefree about the matter, here goes: A barren couple
unable to conceive have a weekend cottage. Chopping
wood one day the husband finds a tree stump that looks
like a little man and carves it into a doll for his
wife. She believes it their child and begins to treat
it like a baby. Eventually, she brings the doll to their
city apartment where it comes to life and begins devouring
everything in sight.
But there's more, including an elongated faked
pregnancy, nosy neighbors, a pedophile, social workers,
cops, and a little next-door-neighbor girl who makes
Patty McCormack in "The Bad Seed" seem likable. Really,
this girl is so annoying that I soon began to wish the
80 year old pedophile in the film would butt-rape just
to teach her a lesson. And, sadly, this little girl
is the main focus of the last half of the film. At first,
it seems like a welcomed respite from the husband and
wife idiots who provide the opening hour of the story,
but soon the little girl begins to work every damn nerve
in the body. I kept wishing Donald Sutherland would
appear and, reprising his role from "The Day of the
Locust," stomp the little moppet to death.
This film is unique, no doubt. The story is crazy.
The acting is quite good. The visual images are almost
groundbreaking. The stop-motion animation, coupled with
live action and some more traditional animation makes
for a film that is often delightful and amazing to look
at. But the script is so bulky and the story is so elongated
that it often works our nerves. It seems, at times,
to just go on and on and on.
Still, "Little Otik" is weird and Lynchian enough
to be engrossing at times. It's a riveting insight to
Eastern block mythology and filmmaking. It's worth checking
out. If, you know, you can afford to invest 130 minutes
in such stuff.
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Report
Card
Script:
C
Acting: A-
Cinematography\Lighting: A+
Special Effects\Make Up: A+
Music: B+
Final
Grade: B-
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