A Fairy Tale for Adults

By Michael Gallucci on Wed, Jan 3, 2007 at 4:00 am

Cleveland theater

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It took stop-motion animator Christiane Cegavske all of 13 years to make her debut movie, Blood Tea and Red String. The wordless fable tells the story of the peasant-like Creatures Who Dwell Under the Oak, whose cherished fertility goddess is stolen one night by the White Mice -- fancy-dressed rodents who play cards, quarrel, and sip blood tea. Despite the presence of anthropomorphic animals, this film isn’t for kids. Blood is spilled, the tone is dark, and the entire movie creeps along at a dreamlike pace. Plus, the old-school stop-motion camera tricks will seem a bit strange to anyone raised on Pixar’s hi-tech gloss. Adults, however, will be enchanted by Blood Tea’s combination of Czech animation, Ray Harryhausen fantasy, and David Lynch surrealism.
Fri., Jan. 5, 7:50 p.m.; Sat., Jan. 6, 5:30 p.m.