really quite watchable...

I've seen some of Svankmeijer's shorts, and Alice, and while I can appreciate them, they weren't really what I would recommend to someone who isn't into surreal stop-motion animation. About 15 minutes into this one, though, I knew this was something almost completely different- it was a very traditional narrative structure, and was set more or less in the real world. Of course, many would disagree with that description, but keep in mind I am sayin this in relation to his other works I have seen, which range from surreal to what basically amount to technical animation exercises, and while I can certainly appreciate them as I've said, I definitely wasn't in love with them.
I've heard many justified comparisons to Eraserhead, and it certainly addresses similar parental-anxiety issues, but I would actually consider it a far more mainstream film than that. Not that you have to be too palatable to out-perform Eraserhead in crowd pleasing, but it has very real characters in a situation that begins as what could be just a psychological piece and soon delves into true magical realism and then not much later into true horror movie territory. I found myself wondering if his influences for the piece extended beyond the obvious fairy-tale foundation to, believe it or not, "The Crate" sequence from Creepshow towards the end of the film.
So, not to be too long winded or spoilery, if you have any interest in fantasy-surrealist-but-still-accessible movies, I can't recommend this enough. I think I may like it a little bit more than the much-loved recent Pan's Labyrinth, even.