Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

One of Jan Švankmajer's lesser known shorts intersperses shots of Leonardo da Vinci's famous works with scenes from real life. I interpreted "Leonardův deník" ("Leonardo's Diary" in English) to mean that life and art will tend to imitate each other. Far from Švankmajer's surreal shorts in which clay figures contort themselves, this one makes sure to establish a link with our own world. One can see Švankmajer's works as an influence on Terry Gilliam's works. Probably Švankmajer's weirdest - but no less impressive - achievement was the 2000 movie "Little Otik", based on a children's story.Anyway, this is a pretty good short. It won't be for everyone, but I recommend it.