Alice

We've all seen many representations and interpretations of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson [1832-1898]; English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer's classic tale of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. We've also been aware of the many interesting works of Czech filmmaker and artist Jan Švankmajer, as Faust, Little Ortik and Lunacy to name a few. Put these 2 great men together and voila! It is the recipe for a dreamlike, outlandish, yet comical collaboration. J

Alice was yet another take of the many filmmakers that tried to bring Dodgson's bizarre story to life; and well, Jan's version; it is something that is certainly worth seeing. Kristyna Kohoutova who plays Alice in this film must be no older than 7 or 8 years old. She doesn't have very much to say, but does a remarkable job by interacting believably with her unreal world. Although the content used by Jan is surprisingly simple, like children blocks, socks and false teeth, he manages to bring this other world easily to life. There were slabs of meat, glass eyes and un-recognicable-type skeletons as well as close-shots of the young girl's mouth narrating for when anyone spoke.

I liked that it wasn't glam or glitz or seemingly exorbitant budget to tell a great story that was engaging, alarming and yet positively not being able to pull your eyes away from the screen. It seems to be a good film for children, although the majority of the content deals with peculiar characters that may be frightening for some.

Gooo Prague! :))