An Intelligent Alice

A fascinating interpretation of 'Alice in Wonderland', Svankmajer's 'Alice' is more of a dream-like parable of grotesques than the fairytale Alice we're used to. The halting, stop-motion animation of the puppets throughout, a collection of living taxidermy and children's toys, adds to the strangeness. The minimal speech is performed through the ongoing narration of Alice herself (which can distract from the action eventually), an extraordinary performance from the child actor Kristýna Kohoutová in her only film role. While offering an intelligent, adult take on Alice, it avoids psychologising the story in a Freudian or sexual manner - it draws out the strangeness there from the start.

A worthwhile film to watch, particularly for fans of 'Alice in Wonderland', adult animation and dark fantasies in the vein of Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton (although it's far better than his own attempt at an 'Alice').