Gilliam crossed with Lynch, with a lot of Kafka
I could see a huge amount of Terry Gilliam in this movie, plus some obvious influence by David Lynch, all in kind of a Kafka-esque, bizarre wrapper.
I really liked it, but this is exactly the kind of movie I like, where you're not quite sure what it means, but it affects you anyway.
Come to think of it, it reminds me of the Coens' Barton Fink a lot too.
I've seen things that would make you want to write a book on how to puke.