Alois Nebel

{{Infobox film

| name = Alois Nebel

| image = Alois Nebel film poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Tomáš Luňák

| producer = {{ubl|Pavel Strnad|Milan Kuchynka}}

| screenplay = {{ubl|Jaroslav Rudiš|Jaromír 99}}

| based_on = {{Based on|White Brook, Main Station and Golden Hills|Jaroslav Rudiš and Jaromír 99}}

| starring = {{ubl|Miroslav Krobot|Marie Ludvíková|Karel Roden}}

| music = Petr Kružík

| cinematography = Jan Baset Střítežský

| editing = Petr Říha

| studio = Negativ

| distributor = Aerofilms

| released = {{Film date|2011|9|4|Venice Film Festival|2011|9|29|df=y}}

| runtime = 84 minutes

| country = Czech Republic / Germany

| language = Czech

| budget = €2.5 million

| gross = $664,185{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1374985/?ref_=bo_se_r_1|title=Alois Nebel|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=2020-09-14}}

}}

Alois Nebel is a 2011 adult animated neo-noir drama film directed by Tomáš Luňák, based on the comic-book trilogy by Jaroslav Rudiš and Jaromír 99.{{cite book |title=International Film Guide 2012 |first=Ian Hayden |last=Smith |year= 2012 |isbn= 978-1-908215-01-7 |page= 101}} 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. 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,{{cite web |url=http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-animated-film-alois-nebel-selected-for-oscar-nomination/691646|title=Czech animated film Alois Nebel selected for Oscar nomination |accessdate=2011-09-23|work=Czech Happenings}}{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2011/20111013.html |title=63 Countries Vie for 2011 Foreign Language Film Oscar |accessdate=2011-10-14 |work=oscars.org |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518164120/http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2011/20111013.html |archivedate=18 May 2012 }} but it did not make the final shortlist.{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2012/20120118.html |title=9 Foreign Language Films Vie for Oscar |accessdate=2012-01-19 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518164323/http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2012/20120118.html |archivedate=18 May 2012 }} The film was submitted and won European Film Awards for Best Animated Film.{{cite news |last1=Richter |first1=Jan |title=Alois Nebel wins European Film Award for best animated movie |url=https://english.radio.cz/alois-nebel-wins-european-film-award-best-animated-movie-8332513 |access-date=1 December 2021 |work=Radio Prague |date=12 February 2012}}{{Cite web|title=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|url=https://vandal.elespanol.com/saladepeligro/6282/gallo-nero-edita-alois-nebel-un-comic-de-jaroslav-rudis-y-jaromir-99-donde-queda-representado-el-horror-de-la-segunda-guerra-mundial-y-la-parte-menos-conocida-de-la-guerra-fria-en-eu/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=Vandal|language=es}}

Cast

{{castlist|

Miroslav Krobot as Alois Nebel
Marie Ludvíková as Květa
Leoš Noha as Wachek
Karel Roden as The Mute
Alois Švehlík as Wachek Sr.
David Švehlík as Wachek Sr. in his youth
Ondřej Malý as Olda
Ján Sedal as Šokin
Tereza Voříšková as Dorothe
Marek Daniel as Psychiatrist
Simona Babčáková as Berta
Ivan Trojan as The Director of Czech Railways
Klára Melíšková as Nurse
Jan Vondráček as SNB officer
Karel Zima as SNB officer
Thomas Zielinski as Undertaker
Martin Myšička as Polish criminalist
Marek Pospíchal as Polish criminalist
Václav Neužil as Colporter

}}

Production

Based 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.{{cite web|last=Macnab|first=Geoffrey|date=2001-02-09|url=http://www.screendaily.com/4043194.article|title=Negativ gets animated with Alois Nebel|work=Screen Daily|accessdate=2011-03-31}} Production is led by the Czech company Negativ, and co-produced with Pallas Film in Germany and Tobogang in Slovakia.{{cite web|url=http://www.the-match-factory.com/films/items/alois-nebel.html|title=Alois Nebel|work=the-match-factory.com|accessdate=2011-03-31}} 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.{{Cite web |url=http://negativ.cz/en/films/alois-nebel/ |title=Negativ | alois nebel |access-date=31 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823023154/http://negativ.cz/en/films/alois-nebel/ |archive-date=23 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}

Release

The film premiered out of competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/lineup/off-sel/out-of-competition/alois-nebel.html |title=Alois Nebel - Tomás Lunák |work=labiennale.org |publisher=Venice Biennale |accessdate=2011-09-14 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323051258/http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/lineup/off-sel/out-of-competition/alois-nebel.html |url-status=dead |archivedate=23 March 2012 }} It was also screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/aloisnebel |title=Alois Nebel |work=tiff.net |publisher=Toronto International Film Festival |accessdate=2011-09-13 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924182131/http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/aloisnebel |url-status=dead |archivedate=24 September 2011}} was scheduled to be released in the Czech Republic on 29 September 2011 through Aerofilms.{{cite web|url=http://www.csfd.cz/film/242734-alois-nebel/|title=Alois Nebel|language=Czech|work=Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze|accessdate=2011-03-31}}

=Critical response=

Kirk 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".{{cite web|last=Honeycutt|first=Kirk|date=2011-09-13|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/alois-nebel-toronto-film-review-234734|title=Alois Nebel: Toronto Film Review|work=The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=2011-09-14}}