Considered one of the great films of the Czech New-Wave, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders takes the viewer on an unorthodox nonlinear journey through a bizarre, sensual, dream-like fantasy world where the lead character, Valerie (Jaroslava Schallerová), is just budding into womanhood.
Seen through the eyes of the impressionable, pure, and innocent ingenue, we are not sure if what we are seeing is, in fact, reality, or whether it is dream (or perhaps more accurately – nightmare), or projections of what coming into adulthood is like, or some mixture of them all.
Much like a fairytale, Valerie is without parents. She only receives small clues as to her ancestry (her father was a bishop and there was some sort of strife between her grandmother and mother), but even these facts cannot truly be trusted. Valerie is also being stalked by some sort of vampiric, pale, beast-like creature who dresses in an ominous black costume that looks like a cross between a priest’s and pilgrim’s garb. He seems to go by many names, including The Polecat, Richard, as well as The Constable (Jiri Prýmek).
She lives in a large home with her grandmother (Helena Anyžová), finding refuge and solace in her pure white bedroom. Much is made of her earrings, as the Polecat continuously attempts to steal them (sometimes achieving his goal) while a mysterious young man (who is somehow connected to the sinister figure) named Eaglet (Petr Kopriva) returns them to her – explaining their protective power (that will help keep her out of harm’s way).
The story, which is set in some unspecified historic time period, is puzzled together like a group of montages (or vignettes). The tale is less about a linear storyline, instead it focuses on mesmerizing visual set pieces. Finding breathtaking ways to frame shots, or intriguing angles to shoot from, each frame is like a hypnotizing piece of artwork. Director Jaromil Jires selects from a palette of striking (and very descriptive colours), with whites, blacks, reds, and purples each symbolizing respective feelings. Purity, evil, romance and other such themes are treated beautifully with allegoric vividness using different shades.
A piece of avant-garde film making, Jires experiments in interesting ways. Concocting a disorienting depiction for us to follow, its visually arresting style is absolutely spellbinding – though, as you can likely imagine, difficult to decipher. Vampires, priests, witchcraft, men, women and family are all threats to our lead character in this fantastical world of utter beauty and perilous danger. Thankfully, actress Jaroslava Schallerová, a neophyte who was only thirteen at the time, does a brilliant job portraying the innocent young woman. Similarly, Helena Anyžová, who plays a number of characters that range in age as well as look, does a solid job – especially considering the fact that she was a costume designer and not an actress.
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is a perfect example of creative world-building in the realm of film making. Each item, actor, colour, cobweb or piece of lighting is expertly placed or used to draw us in and make us feel something that we have likely not experienced in most other motion pictures. Accompanied with a beautiful composition written by Lubos Fiser (that partly features a lullaby-like theme that illustrates our protagonist), Jaromil Jires creates a movie that will both impress and stymy (and for those who lean more towards the former than the latter, will likely return for a repeat viewing to further explore the immersive world). So, journey through the rabbit hole to enter this unorthodox universe, but don’t forget your earrings.
This film is Czech with English subtitles.