Loaded with cruel humour, the film keeps our interest even as it rambles on. The characters are very cleverly drawn and played--half caricature but also real people we can identify with in their fears, curiosities and most of all the torn loyalties of wanting to nurture a child even though he's a murderous monster! For the Horaks, their "child" is a mixed blessing: a mother's ecstasy, a father's hell. But it's the film's cheekiness that wins us over--the dynamics of the neighbours in the apartment building, terrific character details, the wicked stop-motion animation that brings Otik (and other things) to life. It brings to mind the edgy wackiness of Jeunet & Caro blended with the surreal dark beauty of Buñuel, by way of Being John Malkovich. But Svankmayer doesn't know where to pull back, and he overloads the film with repetitive scenes--it's easily a half-hour too long--that muddle his message about tampering with the natural order of things. This is still a true original, and well worth seeing. But a sharper, crisper edit would have made the film spring to life even more effectively.

themes, violence, some nudity

5.Sep.01