Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Valerie a týden divu) (1970)

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is one of the most powerful movies of a movement called the Czech new wave. The Czech New Wave was an act of rebellion against the communist regime that had taken over Czechoslovakia, and often slipped as much by the censors as possible at this time. Most of the movies from this movement were dark and unforgiving narratives. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders was no exception to this. This movie has dreamlike, fairytale quality but also takes on the feeling of a nightmare.

It is pointless to try to give a story summary for this film. This is because with the nightmare-like quality, the story makes little sense when written down or told, but is extremely powerful and involving when it is seen. This movie captures the feeling of a surreal nightmare perfectly, with dark haunting imagery and a dreamlike logic. This movie feels more like a poem than a narrative film. What a beautiful and profound poem it is though. The imagery of this movie is absolutely jaw dropping. Nothing in this movie looks real, whether it be idyllic or terrifying. This adds to the atmosphere and the story, neither of which are quite real either. So not only does this imagery look incredible but it is constantly pulling you further and further into the film. The calm scenes somehow manage to feel perfectly idyllic and lovely, and still give you a feeling that there is a dark side to this world we are going to see soon. The darker scenes are legitimately scary. The vampires in this movie (yes there are vampires) remind one of Count Orlock in F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. Director Jaromil Jires, cinematographer Jan Curik, Art Director Jan Oliva and many more truly created a very visually unique and powerful film.

Jaroslava Schallerov as Valerie gives one of the best performances I have ever seen a child actress give. She is giving a very difficult role of a semi-naïve teenage girl entering such surreal and dangerous world, while experiencing a bit of a sexual awakening. She plays this role to perfection. Her performance is absolutely perfect on every level. She plays the role with a subtlety that would make many seasoned adult actors completely jealous. She seems to understand the dark and sexual undercurrents of this film perfectly (though I don’t know if she really did). Her performance makes it hard to ever look away from this film and is constantly drawing you into this dark and unforgiving world, making it seem more real while retaining its dream like quality.

Despite my writing about it this is a movie that defies any explanation, and seeing it is an incredible experience you will never forget.