ryandannar I caught Jan Svankmajer's "Alice" (aka "Neco z Alenky") on Netflix recently, and had no idea what to expect. Let me just say: This interpretation of "Alice In Wonderland" is an amazing and dreamlike experience. It is perhaps a bit too creepy for the youngsters, but they won't have the patience for it anyway. For adventurous adults, it's a rewarding and fun slice of surrealism. This dark Czechoslovakian fantasy-film casts a strange spell. Largely free of dialogue, it loosely follows the familiar outlines of the Lewis Carroll story, depicting Alice's journey through Wonderland as a feast of bizarre perspective-tricks, charmingly creepy stop-motion, and intricate set-design.The film assumes the viewer's familiarity with Carroll's story, and it uses that familiarity to its advantage as it re-interprets many of the story's most iconic gambits. For instance, rather than crossing paths with a chatty white rabbit in a waistcoat, this film's Alice is stunned to discover a taxidermied rabbit in her room suddenly come to life, pulling the nails from its paws and "bleeding" sawdust as it frees itself from its glass enclosure.The rabbit then climbs a mountain of rocks, which has somehow appeared in the place of one wall of Alice's room, and it disappears into the drawer of a drawing-table which has appeared there. Alice follows, and after she discovers how to open the drawer, we watch as she -- impossibly -- squeezes inside. The drawer becomes a tunnel, which leads into a dungeon-like stone chamber, where the rabbit is preparing himself a meal in a tiny kitchen.One sequence leads to the next in exactly the same dreamlike way that Carroll's book proceeds -- but this film's version of events seems considerably more bizarre, if only perhaps because many of the stop- motion creatures have a creepy, threatening look about them.The film bears some resemblance to the works of the Brothers Quay, whose short films (such as "Street of Crocodiles") famously influenced the look of the music videos made by the band "Tool.""Alice" is definitely a little on the slow side, but its relentlessly inventive surrealism kept me watching for the duration. I definitely recommend it to anyone who's interested in such dreamlike experiences.

Dan Belcher I had to watch this film as part of a surrealism topic we are studying in are A2 film studies exam. We've already watched it once in class and I had to close my eyes and block my ears. The film is the creepiest I have ever seen and I couldn't bare to watch it. Four months later and I wanted to try and re-watch it so I can recall it in my exam. I couldn't get through the first 5 minutes. I was in the library when I physically jumped out my seat at the sight of the Taxidermied White Rabbit that looks like something nightmares are made of. I understand that its just not for me and I can see that a lot of effort and good direction has gone into making this film therefore I won't rate it too harshly. However unless your a real švankmajer fan then I doubt this film will appeal to you. It is scarier than any other horror film that I've seen and I'm getting chills down my back just writing this review. 4/10

ryansassy1 First off, let's get something out of the way: this is not the kind of film designed to appeal to kids that are Alice's age (6 or 7?). Svankmajer's Alice pairs best with a preemptive shot of adolescence--and maybe even a booster shot some years down the road. The kind of nightmarish imagery displayed here begs some fortification on the part of the viewer.The condition of Alice's home situation suggests strongly that she is a lonely child quite often. There is an air of neglect about her room and all the objects in it; Alice herself isn't the squeaky-clean, outspoken child so often interpreted from the book. Her toys look old and tattered, as if from a rummage sale. There is a layer of smudge/filth covering nearly every surface. Left to herself, it is no wonder she must develop an unusually active imagination in order to brighten her circumstances.This re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland is whimsical and morbid in equal measure. The genius of the director's vision lies in the way he faithfully follows the source material's plot, while at the same time turning our Disney-inspired, preconceived notion of this tale on its ear. You see the setting is actually a dilapidated old house -- bare wood floors host rooms devoid of decoration, often containing a single naked bulb as the light source and a lone writing desk of unknown purpose. M.C. Escher could have had a hand in designing this structure, the way that windows and doors open unexpectedly into other spaces, staircases and dumb waiters lead downward into what should be lower levels but aren't. The animal characters are stop-motion compositions of bare animal bones and household items; skulls wrongly attached to other animal skeletons and bodies, given rolling glass eyes to add facial expression of sorts and "life"likeness. Everything is scuffed, dirty, worn, and badly in need of some comforting homeyness.Alice (an impossibly cute kid, she's the only thing of beauty in this "Wonderland")follows the white rabbit (a stuffed and mounted specimen which comes to life and pulls its feet from the display case by yanking the nails out first) from one room to the next on her adventure. She's not a very emotive Alice, reacting blankly to all the bizarreness; once or twice there is a closeup of her widening eyes. It's almost as if she's a doll. We see her lips mouthing the phrases "Said the White Rabbit", "Demanded the Mad Hatter", etc. throughout the narrative, which is our broadest hint that this is all Alice's show--her mind at play within the environment she knows well. It's also a distracting trope which I feel the film would be better off without.This is a Wonderland of cruelty and discomfort, where grime and neglect rule. Yet for all that, Alice retains her sense of pluck and curiosity. Alice doesn't have the verbal self-confidence I remember from the book, but she fights back against the weird forces of this dreamlike world and never gives up in trying to get that white rabbit to listen to her. Alice is redeemed by her strong spirit. You get the impression that she was born to rise above her sad circumstances in life -- and that makes her a hero worth cheering on.At the end of the film, I realized that I loved it. The stop motion skeleton animals were one of the many things about this adaptation that showed true originality. Director Svankmajer has crafted a wonderful thing and in this movie he really shows an understanding of a child's viewpoint. Watching it was a lot like remembering my own (much less morbid) childhood playtime. I can recommend this gem to anybody with a strong stomach and an appreciation for the unusual.

Dylan Greenberg I love this movie. It is just pure awesome. The animation is astounding, the atmosphere is amazing, and there is a single boring second. Yes, this is an art film. But not the kind of black and white, 3 hour borefest made up of people with berets atop their head and cigars in their mouths, talking about life. No, this movie is really good entertainment. I saw it when I was little, and I loved it. I re watched it, and I loved it even more. Of course, I wouldn't suggest showing it to especially young children, unless they really like film and are prepared for a dark movie. For instance, I watched many controversial horror films, (Psycho, The Excorsist) at a young age and was not frightened. So, if you do have a child who is not easily frightened, then by all means let him/her watch it. I cannot recommend this movie more, and I suggest you go out and see it immediately.