Alois Nebel is a 2011 Czech animated drama film directed by Tomáš Luňák, based on the comic-book trilogy by Jaroslav Rudiš and Jaromír 99.[3] 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.[4] The black-and-white film was animated mainly through rotoscoping and stars Miroslav Krobot as the title character. The film was selected as the Czech entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards,[5][6] but it did not make the final shortlist.[7] The film was submitted and won European Film Awards for Best Animated Film.[8][9]
| Alois Nebel | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tomáš Luňák |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | White Brook, Main Station and Golden Hills by Jaroslav Rudiš and Jaromír 99 |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Jan Baset Střítežský |
| Edited by | Petr Říha |
| Music by | Petr Kružík |
Production company | Negativ |
| Distributed by | Aerofilms |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | Czech Republic / Germany |
| Language | Czech |
| Budget | €2.5 million[1] |
| Box office | $664,185[2] |
Cast
edit- Miroslav Krobot as Alois Nebel
- Marie Ludvíková as Květa
- Leoš Noha as Wachek
- Karel Roden as The Mute
- Alois Švehlík as Old Wachek
- Ondřej Malý as Olda
- Jan Sedal as Šokin
- Tereza Voříšková as Dorothe
- Marek Daniel as Psychiatrist
- Simona Babčáková as Berta
- Ivan Trojan as The Director of Czech Railways
Production
editBased on Jaroslav Rudiš' 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's CineMart co-production market. Shortly after that it was picked up for international sales by The Match Factory.[1] Production is led by the Czech company Negativ, and co-produced with Pallas Film in Germany and Tobogang in Slovakia.[4] The film has a budget of 2.5 million euro.[1] It is the feature-film debut of director Tomáš Luňák, who previously had made animated music videos and advertisements.[4] Filming of Alois Nebel started in 2008.[10]
Release
editThe film premiered out of competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2011.[11] It was also screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.[12] was scheduled to be released in the Czech Republic on 29 September 2011 through Aerofilms.[13]
Critical response
editKirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter 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".[14]
See also
edit- 2011 in film
- Cinema of the Czech Republic
- Czech films of the 2010s
- List of animated feature films
- List of black-and-white films produced since 1970
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Czech submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
edit- ^ a b c Macnab, Geoffrey (9 February 2001). "Negativ gets animated with Alois Nebel". Screen Daily. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "Alois Nebel". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ Smith, Ian Hayden (2012). International Film Guide 2012. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-908215-01-7.
- ^ a b c "Alois Nebel". the-match-factory.com. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "Czech animated film Alois Nebel selected for Oscar nomination". Czech Happenings. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ "63 Countries Vie for 2011 Foreign Language Film Oscar". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ "9 Foreign Language Films Vie for Oscar". Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ Richter, Jan (12 February 2012). "Alois Nebel wins European Film Award for best animated movie". Radio Prague. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
- ^ "Gallo Nero edita "Alois Nebel" un cómic de Jaroslav Rudiš y Jaromír 99 donde queda representado el horror de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y la parte menos conocida de la Guerra Fría en Europa. - Sala de Peligro". Vandal (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Negativ | alois nebel". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ "Alois Nebel - Tomás Lunák". labiennale.org. Venice Biennale. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ "Alois Nebel". tiff.net. Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ "Alois Nebel". Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze (in Czech). Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^ Honeycutt, Kirk (13 September 2011). "Alois Nebel: Toronto Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 September 2011.