Alice

This slant on Lewis Carrol’s classic work, deformed by Švankmajer’s surrealism, proved to be the best possible. Its all-round flawless genius that will probably remain sorely unappreciated in the Czech Republic, while abroad, especially in Japan, it is praised to the heavens. And they are quite right because this is Švankmajer’s best work of all. Five * for the unforgettable rabbit alone. (01.08.2007)

In its time, this film was something like a revelation to me. Thanks to it, I became, when it already seemed that I would finally grow up, a dreamy child again, much to the displeasure of everyone around me... I discovered the works of Jan Švankmajer thanks to it and became a big fan of his. In this film, Švankmajer capitalized on the previous two decades of his artistic work and experiences from his early short films. It is surrealism in its purest form, where it is not so much about the story, but rather about the barrage of artistic installations, artifacts, and ideas, as well as avant-garde animation that pushed the boundaries of what was previously known and possible. The elevator ride impressed me the most with its passing floors filled with a variety of strange creatures and plants created by Švankmajer. He devised an entire alternative world and used old illustrations from Brehm's "Life of Animals" and 19th-century encyclopedias as a starting point for creating creatures that seem to come from a fantasy world. Švankmajer's wife, Eva, also contributed to the film's artistic aspects. Overall impression: 100%. I have seen four more versions of Alice to this day, but none came close to Švankmajer's... (16.06.2006)

Carrolls Vorlage "Alice im Wunderland" bietet eine Fülle von Stoff, der sich in verschiedenen Regiekonzepten und Bearbeitungen wiederfindet. Einer von ihnen ist Švankmajers Film, der eine perfekte Mischung aus Live-Schauspiel und unglaublich sorgfältiger Animationsarbeit darstellt, was angesichts des Alters des Films mehr als bewundernswert ist. Vielleicht hat mich das gesprochene Wort aus dem Mund der kleinen Alice ein wenig gestört, das mir zu monoton erschien, aber ich habe trotzdem versucht, mehr auf den formalen Aspekt des Films zu achten, der wichtiger war und wirklich nicht auffiel. Kurzum, ein sehr gelungenes Stück Filmkunst aus tschechischer Produktion, auf das wir stolz sein können und das im Weltkino sicher nicht verloren gehen wird. (29.06.2015)

Jan Švankmajer - by the way, the first feature film I saw from this filmmaker, which is a bit sad - managed to achieve something incredible. Maintaining the bizarre nature of Alice, but adding his own approach to it, turning the story into something that's not far from horror at all. Minimalistic yet wonderfully imaginative, both beautiful and terrifying. (08.02.2016)