Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|1970 Czechslovakian New Wave surrealist dark fantasy horror film by Jaromil Jireš}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox film | name = Valerie and Her Week of Wonders | image = Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (film) poster.jpg | caption = Original Czech theatrical release poster | native_name = {{Infobox name module|cs|Valerie a týden divů}} | director = [[Jaromil Jireš]] | screenplay = {{Plainlist| * [[Ester Krumbachová]] * Jaromil Jireš * Jiří Musil (dialogue) }} | based_on = {{Based on|''[[Valerie and Her Week of Wonders]]''|[[Vítězslav Nezval]]}} | producer = Jirí Becka | starring = {{Plainlist| * [[Jaroslava Schallerová]] * Helena Anýžová * Petr Kopřiva * Jiří Prýmek }} | cinematography = [[Jan Čuřík]] | editing = Josef Valušiak | music = [[Luboš Fišer]] | studio = Filmové studio Barrandov | distributor = Ústřední půjčovna filmů | released = {{Film date|df=y|1970|10|16|Czechoslovakia}} | runtime = 77 minutes | country = Czechoslovakia | language = Czech }} '''''Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders''''' ('''''{{lang-cs|Valerie A Týden Divů}}''''') is a 1970 [[Cinema of the Czech Republic|Czechoslovak]] [[Coming-of-age story|coming-of-age]] [[Surrealist cinema|surrealist]] [[dark fantasy]] [[Horror film|horror]] film<ref name="Prikryl">{{cite web|last=Prikryl|first=Jana|title=''Valerie and Her Week of Wonders'': Grandmother, What Big Fangs You Have!|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3610-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders-grandmother-what-big-fangs-you-have|publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]|date=29 June 2015|access-date=4 September 2016|archive-date=13 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913201243/https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3610-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders-grandmother-what-big-fangs-you-have|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="popmatters">{{cite web|last=Khan|first=Imran|title=Sexual Horror in 'Valerie and Her Week of Wonders|url=https://www.popmatters.com/195341-sexual-horror-in-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders-2495508010.html|website=[[PopMatters]]|date=22 July 2015|access-date=1 November 2023}}</ref> co-written and directed by [[Jaromil Jireš]], based on the 1935 [[Valerie and Her Week of Wonders|novel of the same name]] by [[Vítězslav Nezval]]. It is considered part of the [[Czechoslovak New Wave]] movement and the last expressive achievement of the movement (although it would still be only four more films)<ref name="popmatters"/> The film portrays the heroine as living in a disorienting dream, cajoled by priests, [[vampire]]s, and men and women alike. The film blends elements of the [[dark fantasy]], [[eroticism]] and [[gothic horror]] genres.<ref name="kinoeye">{{cite journal|last=Krzywinska|first=Tanya|url=http://www.kinoeye.org/03/09/krzywinska09.php|journal=Kinoeye|volume=3|issue=9|date=15 September 2003|access-date=10 December 2011|title=Transgression, transformation and titillation: Jaromil Jireš's Valerie a týden divů (Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, 1970)|archive-date=28 October 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031028092354/http://www.kinoeye.org/03/09/krzywinska09.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The movie was received well at the time but over with the wear off of the years (specially due social medias such as, YouTube, Instagram and TiK ToK) the film's popularity has increased and so its acclamation, considering an haunting, surreal and bewitching portrayal of the horrors of a girl growing into womanhood, as feminist milestone of cinema. Since then '''''Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders''''' is regarded as one of the best films of Czech New Wave, of the eastern European cinema, of the 1970s of the 20th century and one of the best fantasy movies ever made. ==Plot== Valerie, a beautiful 13-year-old girl, is asleep when a thief steals her earrings; as she tries to investigate, she is startled by a horrific man, the Constable, who wears a mask. The thief returns her earrings the next day, angering the Constable. Back at her house, Valerie's grandmother, Elsa, tells her that the earrings were left behind by Valerie's mother upon joining a [[convent]]. Previously, the earrings belonged to the Constable, who also owned their house. Valerie also learns that a group of missionaries and a company of actors are coming to town. During her neighbor Hedvika's wedding, Valerie sees the Constable watching her in the crowd and her grandmother also seems to recognize him. Valerie receives a letter from the thief, Orlík ("Eaglet"), warning her that the Constable, his uncle, killed Orlík's parents and now wants Valerie's earrings back. Orlík asks Valerie to meet him at the church that evening; when they meet, he does not hide his attraction to her. Later, Valerie meets the Constable in the street, in disguise; he leads Valerie to a chamber where her grandmother [[Self-flagellation|whips herself]] to win back the love of a past lover, a priest named Gracián. Orlík saves Valerie and tells her that his uncle is in love with her. The Constable meets Elsa, who calls him Richard and was his lover when she was 17. He promises to make her young again if she sells him the house that Valerie will inherit. Meanwhile, Orlík gives Valerie a pearl for protection, then hides her from Richard again. At a picnic, Gracián tells Valerie that Orlík is her brother. That night, Gracián comes into her bedroom and attempts to rape her, but she swallows the pearl to protect herself. Meanwhile, Richard and Elsa sneak into Hedvika's; while Hedvika and her husband consummate their marriage, Elsa bites her on the neck, stealing the blood necessary to become young again. Valerie finds Orlík bound to a waterfall by Richard. Valerie frees Orlík and takes him to her house, avoiding his romantic intentions by blindfolding him, since she now thinks they are siblings. They discover Gracián hanging dead from Valerie's window and take the body to a crypt under Valerie's house; Elsa is there, now a [[vampire]]. Disguised as a young woman, Elsa introduces herself as a distant cousin and tells Valerie that her grandmother left suddenly. She tries to bite Valerie, then restrains her while she is asleep and steals the earrings. Elsa imprisons Valerie, who then observes Elsa having sex with a man and then killing him, then attempting to seduce Orlík, who instead steals the earrings again. Orlík frees Valerie, returns her earrings, and confesses his love for her. He tries to explain that he is not her father's son, but Richard's, but Valerie runs away. She has guessed Elsa is actually her grandmother, and started to feel something for Richard, who is dying. Valerie steals a chicken from the market and takes it to Richard, who has just told Elsa that he is Valerie's father, and that Valerie's blood is the key to their survival. When Valerie heals Richard, he reverts to being a monster and attacks her. He plans to transplant Orlík's heart into Valerie to make her immortal, but Elsa wants it for herself. Valerie, pretending to be unconscious, overhears everything. She revives Gracián, who was not actually dead, and finds a goodbye letter from Orlík. Valerie meets Hedvika, sick from Elsa's bite and depressed about her marriage. They retreat into Hedvika's bedroom and spend the night together, after which Hedvika is healed. Outside, Gracián tells a crowd that Valerie is a witch who tempted him into sin. He orders her captured and [[burned at the stake]], but Valerie swallows the magic earrings and escapes unharmed. In the crypt, now a [[brothel]], Valerie tricks Richard into drinking one of the earrings, turning him into a [[polecat]]. In a progressively more dreamlike sequence, Valerie reunites with Orlík, revealed to be one of the actors; then Elsa, who does not recall anything that has happened; then her long-lost parents. Everyone dances around Valerie in the forest, while the virgins sing for her. Eventually, she falls asleep in a bed in the forest, alone. ==Cast== * [[Jaroslava Schallerová]] as Valerie * Helena Anýžová as Grandmother Elsa/Mother/Redhead * Petr Kopřiva as Orlík * Jiří Prýmek as Constable/Richard * [[Jan Klusák]] as Gracián * [[Karel Engel]] as Coachman Ondřej * Alena Stojáková as Hedvika * Otto Hradecký as Farmer * [[Eva Olmerová]] as Maid (uncredited) == Production == The original screenplay was written by [[Ester Krumbachová]], who is also credited with production design on the movie.<ref name="odaha">{{cite web | url=https://www.odaha.com/tomas-odaha/recenze/film/jaromil-jires-valerie-tyden-divu | title=Jaromil Jireš: Valérie a týden divů | website=Odaha | last=Odaha | first=Tomáš | language=cs |date=27 January 2009 | access-date=12 February 2020 | archive-date=12 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812154116/https://www.odaha.com/tomas-odaha/recenze/film/jaromil-jires-valerie-tyden-divu | url-status=live}}</ref> The screenplay was approved in late April 1968. The film was supposed to be directed by Krumbachová's husband [[Jan Němec]]. However, after the [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia]] in August 1968, Němec was fired from Barrandov film studio and was not allowed to direct.<ref name="odaha" /> The project then went to Jireš, and despite Jireš's 1969 feature ''[[The Joke (film)|The Joke]]'' being banned by communist authorities, production proceeded on ''Valerie''.<ref name="Prikryl" /> Jaroslava Schallerová was chosen from 1,500 girls who auditioned for the role.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://thedissolve.com/reviews/1703-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders/ | title=Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders |last=Berman | first=Judy | website=[[The Dissolve]] |date=6 July 2015 | access-date=12 February 2020 | archive-date=3 February 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203131137/https://thedissolve.com/reviews/1703-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders/ | url-status=live}}</ref> The Czech town of [[Slavonice]] was chosen as the main filming location, because of its preserved renaissance-era town centre. The local people played extras. Some scenes were shot in nearby [[Kostelní Vydří]] monastery.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.filmovamista.cz/1096-Valerie-a-tyden-divu| title=Valérie a týden divů| website=Filmová místa| language=cs| access-date=12 February 2020| archive-date=27 February 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227192820/https://www.filmovamista.cz/1096-Valerie-a-tyden-divu| url-status=live}}</ref> Robert Nezval, son of the author of the novel [[Vítězslav Nezval]], appears in the film as a boy with a drum.<ref name="odaha" /> == Release == ===Home media=== In January 2004, the film was released on [[DVD]] in the United States and Canada by [[Facets Video]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Valerie and Her Week of Wonders |url=https://www.amazon.com/Valerie-Week-Wonders-t%C3%BDden-divu/dp/B00013D48G |access-date=9 December 2011 |work=Amazon.com |date=13 January 2004 |archive-date=10 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110104356/http://www.amazon.com/Valerie-Week-Wonders-t%C3%BDden-divu/dp/B00013D48G? |url-status=live}}</ref> In June of that same year, the film was released on DVD in the UK by [[Redemption Films|Redemption Films Ltd.]] In June 2015, the film was released on DVD and [[Blu-ray]] by [[The Criterion Collection]], featuring a [[4K resolution|4K]] digital restoration; three early [[short film]]s by director Jireš, ''Uncle'' (1959), ''Footprints'' (1960), and ''The Hall of Lost Steps'' (1960); interviews from 2006 with Jaroslava Schallerová and Jan Klusák; and an alternate [[psychedelic folk]] soundtrack by [[the Valerie Project]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970) |url=https://www.criterion.com/films/27860-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders |access-date=16 June 2017 |publisher=The Criterion Collection |archive-date=27 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827044324/https://www.criterion.com/films/27860-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders |url-status=live}}</ref> ===Soundtrack=== The film soundtrack, featuring music composed by [[Luboš Fišer]], was released for the first time in December 2006 by Finders Keepers Records. Available both on [[Compact disc|CD]] and [[LP record|LP]], the booklet reveals previously unseen archive images, international poster designs, as well as notes by the label founder [[Andy Votel]], a film professor Peter Hames and [[Trish Keenan]] from the band [[Broadcast (band)|Broadcast]].<ref name="finders">{{cite web |title=Valerie and Her Week of Wonders |url=https://www.finderskeepersrecords.com/shop/lubos-fiser-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders-valerie-a-tyden-divu/ |publisher=Finders Keepers Records |access-date=2020-02-12 |archive-date=2020-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129165136/https://www.finderskeepersrecords.com/shop/lubos-fiser-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders-valerie-a-tyden-divu/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, members of [[New Weird America]] acts [[Espers (band)|Espers]], [[Fern Knight]], [[Fursaxa]] and other musicians formed [[The Valerie Project]].<ref name="valerieproject">{{cite web |title=The Valerie Project |url=http://www.myspace.com/thevalerieproject |access-date=2007-01-03 |archive-date=2008-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726004758/http://www.myspace.com/thevalerieproject |url-status=live |via=[[Myspace]]}}</ref> The group performed original compositions in unison with the film from 2006 to 2008.<ref>{{cite web |last=Phares |first=Heather |title=The Valerie Project |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-valerie-project-mn0000735165/biography |access-date=24 February 2019 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=24 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224173718/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-valerie-project-mn0000735165/biography |url-status=live}}</ref> An alternative soundtrack was made by [[The Valerie Project]] in 2006.<ref name="valerieproject" /> == Critical reception == On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on {{nowrap|20 reviews}}, with an average rating of 7.4/10.<ref name="rottentomatoes">{{cite web|title=Valerie and Her Week of Wonders|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/valerie_and_her_week_of_wonders|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=1 November 2023}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the film "Consistently and humorously anticlerical", writing that it "may be the most exotic flower to bloom on the grave of the [[Prague Spring]], but it's one with deep roots in 20th-century Czech culture".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/movies/homevideo/tom-jerry-and-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders-cat-mouse-and-head-trip.html|title=Tom, Jerry and 'Valerie and Her Week of Wonders': Cat, Mouse and Head Trip|author=J. Hoberman|author-link=J. Hoberman|date=2 July 2015|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=16 June 2017|archive-date=29 October 2017|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029065248/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/movies/homevideo/tom-jerry-and-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders-cat-mouse-and-head-trip.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Kevin Thompson of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', praised the film calling it "dazzlingly surreal", comparing the film to the work of Ingmar Bergman's ''[[The Seventh Seal]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomson |first=Kevin |date=1975-04-23 |title=Valerie and Her Week of Wonders |page=82 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-valerie-and-her-we/120866249/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Jordan Cronk of ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' wrote that the film "may be a willfully enigmatic, even obtuse viewing experience, but every frame continues to vibrate with energy and thrum with life", and gave the film a rating of three-and-a-half out of five stars.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders|title=Valerie and Her Week of Wonders|author=Jordan Cronk|date=29 June 2015|website=[[Slant Magazine]]|access-date=16 June 2017|archive-date=2 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802081300/http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders|url-status=live}}</ref> [[University of Nebraska]] film studies professor Wheeler W. Dixon wrote in his book ''Visions of Paradise: Images of Eden in the Cinema'' "The film's brevity and its seductive mise-en-scène, sumptuously photographed by Jan Cuřík, make the film seem almost an outlaw project, or an act of social criticism designed to enforce atheism by embracing an anti-Catholic stance, particularly in relation to sexual morality."<ref name="Dixon">{{cite book|last=Dixon|first=Wheeler W.|title=Visions of Paradise: Images of Eden in the Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=27zv7jLVunAC&pg=PA81|year=2006|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0813537986|page=81}}</ref> In the book ''101 Horror Films You Must See Before You Die'', author and professor at [[Brunel University]] Tanya Krzyminska called the film "an exquisitely crafted fairy tale woven around the sexual awakening of a young woman". Krzyminska also noted that, although the film shared many similarities with [[Softcore pornography|soft-core pornographic film]]s of the period, "it seeks a broader canvas in a blend of attributes drawn from both high and low culture." Krzyminska also noted the film's elements of [[gothic horror]] and [[fairy tales]], as well as its use of symbolic imagery.<ref name="Schneider2009">{{cite book|last=Schneider|first=Steven Jay|title=101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnmpPQAACAAJ|year=2009|publisher=Octopus Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-84403-673-8|pages=177–178}}</ref> === Influence === Many writers have cited similarities between the film and the work of English writer [[Angela Carter]], who saw the film during its release in England.<ref name="kinoeye"/> Her screenplay for ''[[The Company of Wolves]]'' (1984) adapted from Carter's short stories, in collaboration with director [[Neil Jordan]], bears a direct or indirect influence.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gracey |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5m9vEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |title=The Company of Wolves |series=Devil's Advocates |location=Leighton Buzzard |publisher=Auteur |year=2017 |page=28 |isbn=978-1-911325-32-1}}</ref> ==See also== * [[Vampire film]] == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == * {{IMDb title}} * {{AllMovie title}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes}} * {{TCMDb title}} * [http://dvdfreak.bloudil.cz/freak.php?p=valerieatydendivu&dz=0 Comparison between DVD and Blu-ray releases] * [http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReview2/valerie-week.htm DVD Beaver] (film review) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050318224758/http://www.monstersatplay.com/review/dvd/v/val.php Monsters at Play] (film review) * [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3610-valerie-and-her-week-of-wonders-grandmother-what-big-fangs-you-have ''Valerie and Her Week of Wonders: Grandmother, What Big Fangs You Have!''] – an essay by Jana Prikryl at the [[Criterion Collection]] {{Jaromil Jireš}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders (Film)}} [[Category:1970 films]] [[Category:1970 drama films]] [[Category:1970 horror films]] [[Category:1970 LGBT-related films]] [[Category:1970s avant-garde and experimental films]] [[Category:1970s coming-of-age drama films]] [[Category:1970s Czech-language films]] [[Category:1970s fantasy drama films]] [[Category:1970s horror drama films]] [[Category:Czech coming-of-age drama films]] [[Category:Czech dark fantasy films]] [[Category:Czech LGBT-related films]] [[Category:Czechoslovak avant-garde and experimental films]] [[Category:Czechoslovak drama films]] [[Category:Czechoslovak fantasy films]] [[Category:Czechoslovak horror films]] [[Category:Films about female bisexuality]] [[Category:Films about puberty]] [[Category:Films about witchcraft]] [[Category:Films based on Czech novels]] [[Category:Films based on fairy tales]] [[Category:Films directed by Jaromil Jireš]] [[Category:Films scored by Luboš Fišer]] [[Category:Films set in the 19th century]] [[Category:Films set in the Czech Republic]] [[Category:Films shot in the Czech Republic]] [[Category:Lesbian-related films]] [[Category:LGBT-related coming-of-age films]] [[Category:LGBT-related fantasy films]] [[Category:LGBT-related horror drama films]] [[Category:Surrealist films]] [[Category:Vampires in film]]'