Little Otik by Jan Svanksmajer is about a couple who cannot have a baby. This couple want nothing more than to have their own child so they find one. The guy goes out to chop wood and finds a tree trunk which to him is a baby so he takes it home to his wife who raises the tree trunk as her own child. Through the love she gives to him he becomes alive and takes over.
This film explores the power of peoples desires. They did not need a child but the desire to have one made them create a monster. The film has helped me to see that peoples desires have a power over peoples needs and the people themselves. This is a form of power in which i had not considered before watching Little Otik.
I would not say that the film is terrifying or scary in any way. However, it does make me feel uncomfortable due to the disturbing ideas behind the film.
Little Otik compares very well to Alice (Another film by Jan Svankmajer). Alice is an interpretation of Alice in wonderland. The two films compare easily due to the way they both use stopmotion and animated characteristics alongside real life characters. Also the animated characters are created and conveyed as real people. or example, in Little Otik the tree stump is alive and treate as a child while in Alice the cards are treated as people with power.
