''Alois Nebel'' is a 2011 Czech animated drama film directed by Tomáš Luňák, based on the comic-book trilogy by

Jaroslav Rudiš Jaroslav Rudiš (born 8 June 1972 in Turnov) is a Czech writer, journalist and musician. Rudiš became known after publishing his first novel '' Nebe pod Berlínem'' ("The Sky under Berlin") in 2002, the tale of a Czech teacher who chooses to lea ...

and Jaromír 99. It is set in the late 1980s in a small village in the Jeseník Mountains, close to the Polish border, and tells the story of a train dispatcher who begins to suffer from hallucinations where the present converges with the dark past of the

expulsion of Germans after World War II Expulsion or expelled may refer to: General * Deportation * Ejection (sports) * Eviction * Exile * Expeller pressing * Expulsion (education) * Expulsion from the United States Congress * Extradition * Forced migration * Ostracism * Person ...

. The black-and-white film was animated mainly through

rotoscoping Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced ov ...

and stars

Miroslav Krobot Miroslav Krobot (born 12 November 1951) is a Czech theatre director and actor. He starred in the film ''The Man from London'', which was entered into the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. His daughter Lenka Krobotová is also an actress. Selected fi ...

as the title character. The film was selected as the Czech entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

84th Academy Awards The 84th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2011 in the United States and took place on February 26, 2012, at the Hollywood and Highland Center Theatre in ...

, but it did not make the final shortlist. The film was submitted and won

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the most ...

for Best Animated Film.

Cast

as Alois Nebel * Marie Ludvíková as Květa * Leoš Noha as Wachek *

Karel Roden Karel Roden (born 18 May 1962) is a Czech actor, popularly known for his roles in ''Hellboy'' and ''The Bourne Supremacy'', and his voice work in '' Grand Theft Auto IV''. Life and career Roden followed his father and grandfather into acting. ...

as The Mute *

Alois Švehlík Alois Švehlík (born 30 July 1939) is a Czech actor and theatre pedagogue. Life and career Švehlík was born in Pardubice, then part of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, in 1939. Together with his older brother Jaroslav, he became invo ...

as Old Wachek * Ondřej Malý as Olda * Jan Sedal as Šokin * Tereza Voříšková as Dorothe * Marek Daniel as Psychiatrist *

Simona Babčáková Simona Babčáková (born 21 February 1973) is a Czech actress. Life and career Babčáková graduated from the Zlín School of Art. She first performed at the Zlín Municipal Theatre and later went on to work at Prague's Divadlo v Dlouhé D ...

as Berta *

Ivan Trojan Ivan Trojan (born 30 June 1964) is a Czech actor, widely considered to be one of the greatest Czech actors of all time. With four Czech Lions for Best Actor in a Leading Role, he has also won two for his supporting roles in ''Seducer'' and '' ...

as The Director of Czech Railways

Production

Based on

' and Jaromír 99's trilogy of comic books about the character Alois Nebel, ''White Brook'', ''Main Station'' and ''Golden Hills'', the film project was first presented at the 2009

International Film Festival Rotterdam The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

's CineMart co-production market. Shortly after that it was picked up for international sales by The Match Factory. Production is led by the Czech company Negativ, and co-produced with Pallas Film in Germany and Tobogang in Slovakia. The film has a budget of 2.5 million euro. It is the feature-film debut of director Tomáš Luňák, who previously had made animated music videos and advertisements. Filming of ''Alois Nebel'' started in 2008.

Release

The film premiered out of competition at the

68th Venice International Film Festival The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was p ...

on 4 September 2011. It was also screened at the

2011 Toronto International Film Festival The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 8 and September 18, 2011. Buenos Aires, Argentina was selected to be showcased for the 2011 City to City programme. The opening film ...

. was scheduled to be released in the Czech Republic on 29 September 2011 through Aerofilms.

Critical response

Kirk Honeycutt of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called the animation "a sheer wonder" and the film "a bracing experience for those who want animation to be more than 3D superheroics and anthropomorphic animal stories". He wrote that "Ultimately, the film may delve into too much specific Czech history and central European psychology to travel beyond those territories to other than film festivals", but "The glory of the film lies not in its story but rather in its atmosphere and imagery".

References

External links