Valerie a týden divu (1970)

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.

Director:

Jaromil Jires

Writers:

Vítezslav Nezval (novel), Jaromil Jires (screenplay)

Stars:

Jaroslava Schallerová, Helena Anýzová, Petr Kopriva

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
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

Storyline

A thief awakens Valerie, just 13, taking earrings left to her by her mother. By morning, the earrings have been returned, Valerie's first period has begun, and a troupe and a missionary have arrived in her 19th century town. The thief is Orick; he reports to a cloaked constable who may also be the missionary. Attention to sexuality is everywhere: Valerie's grandmother's puritanical nature, the missionary's sermon to the town's virgins, the parish priest's attempt to seduce Valerie, and lusty adults at play. Valerie's nascent sexuality puts her in great danger. Can she navigate the passage from innocence to experience, a route teaming with vampires, a murderer, and an obscure family tree?

---

Plot Keywords:

innocence | older man younger woman relationship | grandmother granddaughter relationship | sexual symbolism | coming of age | 

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Horror

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

16 October 1970 (Czechoslovakia)

Also Known As:

I Valerie stin evdomada ton thavmaton

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmové studio Barrandov

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

---

Goofs

Several times throughout the movie people are picking up musical instruments and music is heard as if they are playing them but the fingerings don't match up with the notes, or sometimes no hand manipulation is done at all, just the appearance of playing the instrument. In one case, Eaglet is playing the flute and plays it horizontally when it is the vertical kind.

---

Quotes

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

---

Connections

Referenced in Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974)

---

Soundtracks

Dobrou noc, má plavovlásko
Music by Lubos Fiser
Performed by Josef Abrhám

User Reviews

Coming of age has never been so terrifying

Beautiful, disturbing, erotic, dreamlike... These are a few words that can sum up Jaromil Jires' deliriously bizarre fairy tale "Valerie and her Week of Wonders". Just like Richard Blackburn's sinister "Lemora, a Child's Tale of the Supernatural", "Valerie" is a 'coming of age' tale told through a monstrous metaphor: vampires, who prey on the young to drain their innocence. Despite similarities theme-wise, these two films are quite different, and "Valerie" is clearly superior - a film that will definitely haunt you for life, with images so shocking today as they were back in 70's when it was released. It is 'horror' of rare ethereal beauty and poetry, and definitely one of it's kind - perfectly capturing the fear, the curiosity and the pleasure of a little girl's sexual awakening. Jaroslava Schallerová is spellbinding as the title character - a combination of Lewis Caroll's Alice and Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, and manages to convey both the purity and the sensuality that the role requires. Kudos for her doing such 'depraved' scenes involving incest and lesbianism, that are surely unthinkable today. Helena Anýzová also gives a harrowing performance in the role of the grandmother, and her gradual transition from repressed Catholic old lady to a seductive, sex-crazed vampire is exquisite. Last but not least, Jires' excellent direction and Jan Curik's lush cinematography that highlights the film's "fever dream" tone help create this brilliant work of art that captures the essence of the ethereal and lyricism on celluloid unlike any other.