Daisies (film)
| Daisies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Věra Chytilová |
| Written by | Věra Chytilová |
| Produced by | Rudolf Hájek |
| Starring | Ivana Karbanová Jitka Cerhová Marie Češková Jiřina Myšková Marcela Březinová Julius Albert |
| Cinematography | Jaroslav Kučera |
| Edited by | Miroslav Hájek |
| Music by | Jiří Šlitr Jiří Šust |
| Distributed by | Asociace Českých Filmových Klubů |
Release dates | December 30, 1966 (Czech release) October 25, 1967 (U.S. release) |
Running time | 74 min |
| Language | Czech |
Daisies (Template:Lang-cs) is a 1966 Czech film directed by Věra Chytilová considered a milestone of the Nová Vlna movement and the modern surrealist cinema.
Made with the support of the state-sponsored film studio, it follows two young girls, both named Marie, played by Ivana Karbanová and Jitka Cerhová. Throughout the film they engage in strange pranks as acts of rebellion against the world in which they live.
Plot summary
The opening sequence is that of a spinning flywheel with shots of aeroplanes strafing the ground. The shots of the aeroplanes are most likely from World War II.
The first scene shows the two main characters sitting in bathing suits. Their conversation is robotic and from that point on they decide to be bad. The next scene shows Jezinka and Jarmila dancing in front of a tree. The tree has many fruits and resembles the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Once Jezinka eats from the tree, they both fall and appear in their apartment. There is significant action here, with Jezinka looking through the window at a parade and Jarmila eating. The next few scenes are all similar. They show the two girls on a date with an older man, a 'sugar daddy'. Jarmila eats voraciously and Jezinka eventually starts acting like her, eating a lot of food.
They eventually go to a night-club, and they outperform the 1920’s style dancers. They also cause a ruckus with the waiters. Jarmila also goes to the apartment of a man who is a butterfly collector. In this scene, there are a lot of butterflies shown as still frames. At the end, she says that she wants to eat. Later on, they go to a factory. There are still frames of locks, and the building looks run down. They look for "nourishment" and stumble upon a feast presumably set out for communist leaders. They eat the food, make a mess and destroy the room. It then cuts to them being dunked in water like witches. They decide to go back and make everything right again, and at the end a giant chandelier crushes them.
Editions
Though made available in some VHS and DVD editions through the times, a new and restored DVD reissue was finally published in 2009, featuring a director-approved version with improved english subtitles and other special features.