Monday, March 21, 2011

Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders (1970) aka Valerie a Týden Divu

4 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jaromil Jires
Written by: Vítezslav Nezval, Jaromil Jires
Actors include: Jaroslava Schallerová, Helena Anýzová, Petr Kopriva
Genre: Horror, Surrealism, Fantasy, Drama
Length: 73 minutes
Banned: Nope




Review:
This is one unusual surrealist fairy tale/nightmare that is about a thirteen year old girl named Valerie who is reaching puberty. It has something to do with vampires (who I give credit as they are actually rather creepy and Nosferatuesque), and magical earrings and maturing but it's not a clear cut storyline. It's just insanely imaginatively put together, and visually it does remind me a bit of the works of Alejandro Jodorowsky and the plot is somewhat similar in a way to The Company of Wolves. It's rather controversial as the actress playing Valerie is a very beautiful 13 year old girl and there is nudity involved here. Yes it's artful, and it's not necessarily "distasteful" but it did surprise me to be honest. This film is very dream like and it's one of those films you just have to ride out and not question in order to truly enjoy but I didn't mind. It's sort of creepily and magically captivating and it really has made me curious about other Czech films. Recommended for those looking for an entirely different film about growing up.

Availability:  On DVD

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