Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1974)

Absolutely Fantastic

A Masterpiece!

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Sweet and virginal young lass Valerie (well played with wide-eyed charm to spare by the delicately fetching Jaroslava Schallerova) undergoes a sexual awakening in a strange, yet sensual fantasy land where she runs afoul of a creepy vampiric being known as Polecat (a marvelously sinister portrayal by Jiri Prymek) and gets accused by the superstitious locals of witchcraft.Director Jaromil Jires, who also co-wrote the thoughtful script with Ester Krumbachova, does a masterful job of crafting a beguilingly dreamy and surreal atmosphere that's bristling with dark emotions, barely suppressed carnal desires, and severe religious repression. Moreover, Jire not only manages the remarkable feat of presenting a genuinely arousing mood that never becomes too explicit or remotely exploitative, but also delivers a potent and provocative central message on the impossibility of preserving a state of childlike innocence for perpetuity. Petr Kopriva contributes a likable turn as Valerie's smitten boyfriend Eaglet while Helena Anyzova does impressive work in the dual roles of both Valerie's stern grandmother and wicked aunt Elsa. Jan Curik's sumptuous cinematography offers a wealth of striking poetic imagery. Lubos Fiser's gentle folkloric score hits the harmonic spot. Recommended viewing for fans of esoteric cinematic fare.

It is best not to attempt to "understand" this surreal masterpiece on an intellectual level. How can anyone comprehend the thoughts ,fantasies ,dreams and emotions of a young girl on the threshold of womanhood ? Instead ,I would suggest that you simply drift downstream with the movie ,allowing it to carry you where it may.Based on a Czech novel which seeks to examine Gothic themes in the light of Freudian psychology , it is most of all a visual feast in which every scene is a ravishingly beautiful composition. The dream-like quality is enhanced by the hauntingly atmospheric music and outstanding performances. Paramount among them is that of Jaroslava Schallerova as the titular character , even more astonishing when one remembers that she was only 14 at the time.Viewing "Valerie" is tinged with more than a little sadness when one considers that it was made shortly after the brutal crushing of the "Prague Spring " by the invading Soviet tanks. Tragic to think that the creative talents involved in this film would be destined to spend their careers stifled by Stalinist conformism.

Inspired by fairy-tales such as Alice in Wonderland and Little Red-Riding Hood, "Valerie and her Week of Wonders" is a surreal tale in which love, fear, sex and religion merge into one fantastic world: a disorienting dream, cajoled by priests, vampires, men and women alike, and blends elements of fantasy and horror films.Many writers have cited similarities between the film and the work of English writer Angela Carter, who had seen the film during its release in England. Her screenplay for "The Company of Wolves" (1984) adapted from Carter's short stories, in collaboration with director Neil Jordan, bears a direct or indirect influence.This connection is great, taking the surrealism of the Czech cinema and giving it a bit of a spin. "Wolves" is a bit more linear, a bit more straightforward. But the similarities are clear.

Often I get things I've wanted to see for some time, but for one reason or another never did. Or something I've seen before, but it was a long time ago, and I'd like to see again. Especially if there are DVD extras I HAVEN'T seen.Sometimes, though, I like to get something I've never heard of, something which the blurb makes sound interesting, something which seems like it *might* be the sort of thing I might like, but which is a bit of a risk. Sometimes this results in my mailbox sagging from the dead weight of a real clunker, and I find myself wishing I hadn't been so adventurous.But sometimes I wind up seeing something like _Valerie and Her Week of Wonders_, and I'm glad that I *was* adventurous. This easily makes up for the last clunker, no, for the last TWO clunkers I got in red envelopes.Is Valerie dreaming? For somebody being burned at the stake, this barely-teen seems rather unconcerned. Is her father a dead bishop, a vampire, or the Weasel? Or is the vampire a bishop? Or is the bishop the Weasel? Is Eagle her boyfriend? Her brother? Is her mother not really dead, or is it that her cousin? How did she know that her cousin is actually...Can Valerie evade lusty priests, incest which maybe isn't, and beware the Weasel? Can the girl ever get a good night's sleep? Or is she getting exactly that, now?