Valerie a týden divu (1970)

Director:

Jaromil Jires

Writers:

Vítezslav Nezval (novel)
Jaromil Jires (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 October 1970 (Czechoslovakia)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Religion | Fairy Tale | Transformation | Male Chauvinist Pig | Coming Of Age

Cast

Jaroslava Schallerová	...	Valerie
Helena Anýzová	...	Babicka / Elsa / Matka / Rusovláska
Petr Kopriva	...	Orlík
Jirí Prýmek	...	Tchor-konstábl
Jan Klusák	...	Gracián
Libuse Komancová	...	Sluzka-novicka
Karel Engel	...	Kocí Ondrej
Alena Stojáková	...	Hedvika
Otto Hradecký	...	Statkár
Martin Wielgus	...	Tchor-father
Jirina Machalická	...	Kvetinárka
Michaela Klocová	...	Sluzka
Zdenka Kovárová	...	Sluzka
Bedriska Chalupská	...	Sluzka
Robert Nezval	...	Muzikant

Also Known As:

Valerie a týden divů (Czechoslovakia: Czech title)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X

Filming Locations:

Barrandov, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Filmové Studio Barrandov

Trivia:

As of October 2007, is currently playing at selected venues as a silent film with a live orchestra and re-interpreted score. The project is known as The Valerie Project.

Quotes:

[subtitled version, when Valerie sees Gracian hanged]
Orlik: It's nothing, just a hanged man.

Unique and totally brilliant.

"Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" is a wonderfully surreal and hallucinatory horror/fantasy tale made by Jaromil Jires.This poetic film looks like a curious mixture of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Nosferatu".The pubescent Valerie is awakened one day by a pasty-faced,Nosferatu-like vampire who steals her earrings(which,we later learn,are imbued with magical powers).She pursues him,but he manages to vanish into a crowd.She spots the vampire again later, feebly disguised behind a mouse-head mask,and points him out to her(alarmingly pale)grandmother.As it turns out,the earring thief has vampirized Valerie's grannie,along with much of the town,and furthermore has set up shop in the dark,cobwebby basement of Valerie's house!Matters aren't helped by the presence of a lecherous priest with an eye for Valerie,but things really come to a head when Val's young, pretty 'aunt' moves in and tries to take Valerie out of the picture.The aunt is in fact Val's vampirized grandmother looking to further the head vamp's nefarious aims.Luckily Valerie's one true love,a dashing young man,is there to help her escape her grandmother's clutches and defeat the vampires, which inspires a mass celebration among the townspeople,ending with them all surrounding Valerie as she climbs into an outdoor bed and goes to sleep.The film itself is loaded with incredibly dreamy atmosphere as it mixes perfectly fantasy with reality.The main actress Jaroslava Schallerova is stunningly beautiful.A must-see for fans of poetic horror.10 out of 10.