It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The atmospheric trailer for this film made its viewing essential: Why were disembodied hands beating drums in the woods? Who is Mephistopheles? Why are life-size wooden puppets running through Prague without a puppeteer? Svankmajer's film uses a great range of archetypes in this film that appeal to our sense of symbolism. Many scenes in the film have the poetic resonance of dreams: a cryptic note hurriedly pressed into our hands by a stranger, a dimly lit vaudeville stage, dark, grimly portentous puppets at the threshold, magic, illusion, damnation. Using the Faust legend as a starting point, the film explores such themes as predestination, religion, fear, folly and conjures a mesmerising film that I will watch many times for its enchanting originality. A must-see for lovers of spectacle.

Jan Svankajer's feature film follow up to his masterpiece Alice is a rather free interpretation of the classic and often referenced tale of Faust. Like in 'Alice', Svankmajer approaches the story in a unique and original fashion, both conceptually and visually - as usual, he mixes various genres and art forms, combining live actors, puppetry and claymotion. Faust is sometimes an ordinary man playing the role of Faust, sometimes a puppet and sometimes Faust himself. The film shows Svankmajer's brilliant creativity and imagination, and his fantastic and unique stop-motion technique, at their best; even though I find it only slightly inferior to 'Alice' (the overdubbed voices are again annoying, but much better than on 'Alice'). It has a wonderful surreal and dark atmosphere, some brilliant character designs and even a couple of scenes that are quite entertaining (like the old man who collects legs). I adore the way Mephistopheles turns himself into a clay mirror of Faust himself, the head-changing puppet which is both devil and angel, and the delicate transformation of Faust turning from man to puppet and back. If for nothing else, then for the visual side by itself Faust is well worth seeing. If you're a fan of Svankmajer, or are interested in classic animation and puppetry, buy Faust now.

This is my favorite one within the 4 works I have seen, which are Little Oik, Conspirations of Pleasure and Alice in different times. Every time, I saw Svankmajer's work, I was a bit shocked and excited.And I can always see marionettes, tongue, biting food, juice, repeat (which quite annoying, cos the repeat is beyond the limit you can bear). Like the clown read spell to control the movement of the devil again and again, same thing happened in Alice.I found Svankmajer like whipping, like close-up shots of the scene when people biting food.I broke laughter when Faust had sex with the female marionettes and found she was the devil in disguise.I think Frust will be much better if more conversations are deleted and some plots are cut. Cos people with patience like me are so few.In conclusion, it is a nightmarish marionette movie for children but a funny one for adults, isn't it? hehe

Spoilers herein.This is lesser Svankmejer. What's interesting about it is how he combines the forces that influence man with those that control the puppets. Some of this is elegantly presented, as with the fade from the strings to a beam of light. But as with most of his notions, it is too obvious and blunt to be worth the effort by itself.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 4: Has some interesting elements.