Adaptation of dark folklore in film is a familiar staple of the fantasy genre in contemporary European cinema. In response to this, Jan Švankmajer’s 2000 film Otesánek combines live-action, animation and puppetry to revive the Czech tale of the same name.
As put by Švankmajer himself, the essence of the fairytale is “a rebellion against nature and the tragic dimension of that rebellion” (2002, para 13) which emcompasses a human element of desire and consumption in the manifestation of the tree-creature Otik. With the film being released in 2000 as well as set in the modern day, we can understand that the messages conveyed in the film are relevant in the context of post-Soviet Union Czechia.
Throughout Central-Eastern Europe in the period following Czechoslovakia’s collapse, cinema “[continued] the tradition of films featuring village life and paying tribute to the rich folklore and heritage… [while] a number of new films [looked] into the politics of ethnic identity” (Iordanova, 2003, p. 150) and incidentally these post-Communist concerns incited “extreme and overwhelming situations” (Iordanova, 2003, p. 151) in films. Consumerism is a particular focal point in Otesánek, embodied primarily through the explicit, insatiable and murderous appetite of Otik but also obtrusively in the lives of the characters. Flashy product adverts as well as scenes involving copious amounts of food shopping are featured in order to question the newfound individualist desires and politics within the Czechian identity.
“For Švankmajer, Otik is an ur-consumer, the ‘absolute eater’ who represents late capitalist, ‘civilized’ society’s need to devour – to cannibalise –everything” (Gross, 2014, para 4). Linking with these ideas of consumerism, it is not only for Otik that eating is a necessity, the film is littered with images of food and more importantly people eating. It is the destruction of all this food (and people) which drives the negative and oppositional view of the pleasures and excesses of Capitalism felt by Švankmajer himself.
Another hallmark of Švankmajer’s work is his surrealism. When we note his portrayal of Otik, he uses a puppet which is only animated for the mouth orifice which also includes an eye, teeth and tongue. Hames writes on this and claims that “Otik is a representation of primal forces” (2009, p. 183) which shows Jan’s bespoke response that consumerist practice is perhaps unsophisticated and ugly. The more food-centric strand of this concept is translatable in an older film by him: 'Jídlo' (Food) in 1993 where characters alone or together eat their meals with grotesque animations; they channel cannibalistic urges and the act of eating, stretching the mouth and chewing are all destructive and exaggerated displays.
As put by Švankmajer himself, the essence of the fairytale is “a rebellion against nature and the tragic dimension of that rebellion” (2002, para 13) which emcompasses a human element of desire and consumption in the manifestation of the tree-creature Otik. With the film being released in 2000 as well as set in the modern day, we can understand that the messages conveyed in the film are relevant in the context of post-Soviet Union Czechia.
Throughout Central-Eastern Europe in the period following Czechoslovakia’s collapse, cinema “[continued] the tradition of films featuring village life and paying tribute to the rich folklore and heritage… [while] a number of new films [looked] into the politics of ethnic identity” (Iordanova, 2003, p. 150) and incidentally these post-Communist concerns incited “extreme and overwhelming situations” (Iordanova, 2003, p. 151) in films. Consumerism is a particular focal point in Otesánek, embodied primarily through the explicit, insatiable and murderous appetite of Otik but also obtrusively in the lives of the characters. Flashy product adverts as well as scenes involving copious amounts of food shopping are featured in order to question the newfound individualist desires and politics within the Czechian identity.
“For Švankmajer, Otik is an ur-consumer, the ‘absolute eater’ who represents late capitalist, ‘civilized’ society’s need to devour – to cannibalise –everything” (Gross, 2014, para 4). Linking with these ideas of consumerism, it is not only for Otik that eating is a necessity, the film is littered with images of food and more importantly people eating. It is the destruction of all this food (and people) which drives the negative and oppositional view of the pleasures and excesses of Capitalism felt by Švankmajer himself.
Another hallmark of Švankmajer’s work is his surrealism. When we note his portrayal of Otik, he uses a puppet which is only animated for the mouth orifice which also includes an eye, teeth and tongue. Hames writes on this and claims that “Otik is a representation of primal forces” (2009, p. 183) which shows Jan’s bespoke response that consumerist practice is perhaps unsophisticated and ugly. The more food-centric strand of this concept is translatable in an older film by him: 'Jídlo' (Food) in 1993 where characters alone or together eat their meals with grotesque animations; they channel cannibalistic urges and the act of eating, stretching the mouth and chewing are all destructive and exaggerated displays.
His earlier works such as ‘Jabberwocky’ (1971) featured a different artistry wherein “objects, figurines, cutouts … move around and settle down in just the way [Švankmajer] wants” (Liehm, 1974, p. 252). These early animations are more expressive due to their movement and flow whereas it is the use of comedic, physical absurdity juxtaposed with the mundane real-life in Otesánek which is Jan’s tool for manipulation. In reference to the use of humour in newer Czech surrealist films, it “formed part of their subtle dissidence to the political regime” (Frank, 2014, p. 57).
To answer my question, Švankmajer repeats his infamous stimulus of eating in Otesánek in order to convey his opposing attitude towards the hyper-consumerism found in Capitalist society whilst at the same time combining his surrealist background with more conventional narrative and images to create a hybrid film which combines a modern day tale of an infertile couple and a lonely child with scrupulous homage to the dark Czech fantasy tale utilising animated shorts of the famous story.
To answer my question, Švankmajer repeats his infamous stimulus of eating in Otesánek in order to convey his opposing attitude towards the hyper-consumerism found in Capitalist society whilst at the same time combining his surrealist background with more conventional narrative and images to create a hybrid film which combines a modern day tale of an infertile couple and a lonely child with scrupulous homage to the dark Czech fantasy tale utilising animated shorts of the famous story.
A highlight of the film's use of homage to the 19th century fairy tale put into the context of the film's natural and current setting. The ending of this clip also hints at the film's subtle pairing of the monster Otesánek with Alzbetka's family as an allegory for capitalist 'hunger'.
Bibliography:
Frank, A. (2014). Reframing reality : The aesthetics of the surrealist object in French and Czech cinema. Oxford: Intellect Books Ltd. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/portsmouth-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3014893
Gross, Z. (2014, June). Little Otik. Senses of Cinema, 71. Retrieved from http://sensesofcinema.com/2014/cteq/little-otik/
Hames, P. (2001, October). Bringing up baby. Sight and Sound, 11(10), pp. 26-28. Retrieved from http://www.kinoeye.org/02/01/hames01.php#1back
Hames, P. (2009). Czech and Slovak cinema: Theme and tradition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/portsmouth-ebooks/detail.action?docID=448739
Iordanova, D. (2003). Cinema of The Other Europe: The Industry and Artistry of East Central European Film. London: Wallflower Press.
Liehm, A.J. (1974). Closed watched films: The Czechoslovak experience (2nd ed.). New York:International Arts and Sciences Press, Inc.
Švankmajer, J. (Director). (1971). Jabberwocky [Motion Picture]. Czechoslovakia: Krátký Film Praha
Švankmajer, J. (Director). (1993). Jídlo [Motion Picture]. Czech Republic: Koninck Studios.
Švankmajer, J. (Director). (2000). Otesánek [Motion Picture]. Czech Republic: Athanor.