Little Otik

A wonderfully wicked comedy, this is adapted from a traditional Czech folktale about the destructive aspects of humanity's procreative urges. Unable to have a child, a couple become so desperate that the husband decides to amuse his wife by carving a garden tree stump into a baby-like shape. Hilariously, her inability to distinguish the twiggy monstrosity from the real thing at first causes further tensions, but then proves infectious. With folktale inevitability, the thing comes to life and develops a murderously insatiable appetite - but still the parents will protect their offspring, however destructive he gets. Dark, dreamlike and very subversive, it is yet again distinguished by Svankmajer's dazzling blend of animation and live action.