Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)

Inspired by fairytales such as Alice in Wonderland and Little Red Riding Hood, is a surreal tale in which love, fear, sex and religion merge into one fantastic world.

Director:

Jaromil Jires

Writers:

Vítezslav Nezval (novel), Ester Krumbachová (screenplay)

Stars:

Jaroslava Schallerová, Helena Anýzová, Petr Kopriva

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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

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?

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Plot Keywords:

innocence | grandmother granddaughter relationship | sexual symbolism | coming of age | incest | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders was one of many films hindered by socialist censorship during the Soviet occupation of then Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). Fictional media in the Soviet Union and any Soviet-occupied places had been highly suspect if not sanctioned by the State, and ran the risk of being either censored or forcibly destroyed. Luckily, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders not only survived as a film, but it reached foreign audiences, its original musical soundtrack was preserved, and its book basis has been translated into multiple languages.

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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.

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Quotes

[subtitled version]
Orlik: [of The Polecat] He's one hundred years overdue for death

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Connections

Referenced in Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

One of the best movies I have ever seen!!!

Awesome is not the correct word for this movie; I just did not want it to end. This film will have me searching for everything Jaromil Mires directed. The movie is great because of so many reasons. The camera angles that hover overhead, or come from the ground looking up. The surreal affects that make each scene magical and wonderful. The awesome photography with elements mixed with candles, water, fog, smoke, and yes-even cobwebs. A movie that is erotic in nature, with surreal images that cross between Vampires, Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood and the Zombies. It turns each second of this movie into a living masterpiece.

I won't mention the plot, however I WILL mention the sheer beauty of 13-year-old Valerie. What a beautiful girl, she makes this movie. Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders... you have my vote!!!

Details

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

16 October 1970 (Czechoslovakia)

Also Known As:

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmové studio Barrandov

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1