A pathfinder of Czechslovak NEW WAVE in the 60s, Czech filmmaker Jaromil Jires (1935-2001) kick-started the movement with his feature debut THE CRY (1963), and his third feature VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS, is probably his most well-known work, an adaptation from avant- garde writer Vítězslav Nezval's eponymous surrealistic novel, about a 13-year-old girl Valerie's (Schallerová, an ethereal nymph borne out of her screen debut) phantasmagorical experience happening around her after she has had her very first menstruation.Sandwiched between Vera Chytilova's DAISIES (1966) and Juraj Herz's MORGIANA (1972), Jires' concoction of fantasy and horror snappily juggles with the former's experimental whimsy and the latter's Gothic trope. A bountiful of motifs are cooked together in this mash-up from scene to scene within its terse 73-minutes running time: sexual awakening, Electra complex, virgin worship, wedding and funeral, clergyman's unbridled carnal lust, lesbianism, sibling incest, witch-hunt, vampirism, shapeshifter and black magic.An overload of dreamlike eeriness polished by Jan Klusák and Lubos Fiser's quaintly pastoral soundtrack, what Valerie sees and what she dreams merge into the same universe. Is Constable (Prýmek, a Death impersonation grafted on his gargoyle physiognomy), the masked priest, her birth father or just a weasel monster? Is Orlik (Kopriva), the young thief falls for her, a passing actor or her own brother? Is her grandmother (Anýzová, under heavy cosmetics to portray three different roles, a terrorising presence notwithstanding), a blood-thirsty vampire or a past lover of Constable, which would further complicate the story into the realm of absurdism and controversy.Astounded by the otherworldliness of its visualisation, confounded by the narrative's incredulous successions of happenings, viewers who expect instantaneous pizazz and outré encounter will certainly adore its innovative execution, meanwhile those who expect a sober narrative with haunting effects will find the film largely quixotic within its own capacity.

Years before seeing my first Czech movie I had heard of Valerie as a famous Horror title,which led to me picking up the DVD,but for some reason never getting round to watching it! Deciding to spend April watching one Czech film a day,I decided it was time experience a week of wonder.The plot:Waking up,Valerie finds that her earrings have been stolen.Searching around town for the thief,Valerie runs into a strange looking man with a mask.The next day Valerie discovers that the robber has returned her earrings.Due to the earrings belonging to her mum,Valerie (who is having her first period) decides to ask her grandmother Elsa about the earrings and her parents (who left her with Elsa years ago.)Learning some mysterious family history,and getting told that a group of actors are going to visit the town,Valerie gets ready for a week of wonder.View on the film:Complementing the movie with interesting extras,Second Run give the film a transfer whose audio and picture quality shines like crystals.Making her debut after beating 1,500 other actresses in the auditions, Jaroslava Schallerová gives a spellbinding performance as Valerie,with Schallerová wrapping Valerie in a delicate innocence which crumbles as she explores her womanhood.Showing a masterful touch well beyond her years, Schallerová expresses Valerie's sensuality in an expertly subtle manner,by making Valerie's naïve girlhood belief transform into something much more mature.Taking on multiple roles,the stylish Helena Anýzová gives incredibly distinctive performances as Babicka ,Elsa , Matka and Rusovláska!,each of whom are given unique qualities by Anýzová,which are carefully threaded round the entwining tale.Backed by a mythical score from Lubos Fiser,co-writer/(along with Ester Krumbachová and Jirí Musil) director Jaromil Jires & cinematographer Jan Curík spend the week soaking the screen in wondrous images.Covering pure white flowers in the blood of Valerie,Jires conjures Valerie's world with a hauntingly magical atmosphere,where the lavish,ultra-stylised vibrant colours of Valerie's childhood are overcast by rugged vampires, betraying weasels and decaying nightmares.Whilst not making an overtly political spell over their adaptation of Vítezslav Nezval,the screenplay by Jires/Krumbachová & Musil does rub an abrasive shoulder against the Soviet Union's idea of unity,due to Valerie battling to explore her most individualistic features.Weaving their fairy tale with transformations and sharp- toothed vampires,the writers weave Valerie's horrors with a fascinating psychological nightmare,thanks to the writers displaying an expert eye for each scene to be seen in two ways,from the eerie Gothic Horror shine being a canvas for a Freudian exploration in Valerie's loss of pure white flowers into being surrounded by the long,engulfing shadows of adulthood,as Valerie starts a new week of wonder.

"Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" is much like if you'd told Ingmar Bergman to make a film about sex and puberty right after he finished making "The Seventh Sign"! This Czech movie is that strange...and it's clearly not your typical sort of movie about sexual awakening. I see no evidence of Judy Blume in this film!This movie is one giant string of metaphors involving Valerie and her ascent into adulthood--from her first menstruation to sexual urges to feelings of guilt. It's all very strange and I notice some compare it to "Alice in Wonderland"...though I see it as much more "Seventh Seal" inspired--with Angel of Death-like (and vampire-like) characters, incest, the death of innocence, bisexuality, guilt and more. None of it is said--instead it's all explored through odd symbolism. Overall, it's a film that some will no doubt like but others will be frustrated with. After all, if you're looking for either a skin flick (there is a fair amount of skin but it isn't particularly enjoyable or explicit) or a movie to show your daughter in order to explain sex education, you clearly do NOT want to see the movie. It's really only for those who love artsy films and don't get offended (and hopefully NOT turned on) by seeing an underage actress in such a highly sexually charged film.The cinematography was nice. But as for me, just give me "The Seventh Sign".

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.