Directed by:
Věra ChytilováCinematography:
Jaroslav KučeraCast:
Ivana Karbanová, Jitka Cerhová, Marie Češková, Jiřina Myšková, Julius Albert, Oldřich Hora, Jan Klusák, Josef Koníček, Jaromír Vomáčka, Václav Chochola (more)VOD (1)
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The screenplay of Chytilová's ironic, happy-go-lucky allegory featuring two big girls looking for the sense and nonsense of existence was co-authored by Pavel Juráček and Ester Krumbachová. The eminent personalities of the 1960s' culture revival created an internationally acclaimed film, which due to its essential art form stirred up a heated debate in the National Assembly of socialist Czechoslovakia, where one of the MPs said it was "rubbish". (Summer Film School)
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Reviews (7)
From a formal perspective, the film is incredibly interesting, showcasing how one can play with visuals, colors, and the combination of image and sound. However, in terms of content, things are a bit different. The two girls are incredibly annoying, and I think it's intentional, making it very difficult to enjoy this film. That might be a hallmark of an interesting film, but in this execution, it just didn't resonate with me.
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"I can't even do that." "So what can we do?" "We can't do anything." Chytilová has always been ahead of other New Wave representatives with her causticity, because her critique of society is first and foremost a critique of patriarchy. And from that perspective, Daisies is easily applicable to the present. Two women who have been declared incompetent, their offence that they continually subvert their assigned roles, and in doing so make poor men cry. After all, most of the film takes place not in the typical socreal setting, but in luxury restaurants and at feast tables with semi-cretinous bourgeoisie, obviously a reference to her long experience in various lower filmmaking positions she held for many years at Barrandov, which seems to have shaped her quite a bit as a person.
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Daisies is a very provocative affair, full of colour, captivating imagery, unexpected leaps in the plot (if there is one), all of which is dominated by two utterly wicked girls whose actions and dealings with other people are very controversial. In terms of visual stylization, this film is very imaginative, no question about it. But personally, I was bothered by the two leads - I understand that they were supposed to be spoiled, but besides that they were quite annoying (in a bad way) and talked like first grade girls (which really irritated me). But the near-final scene, in which the two girls totally ruin the feast and then swing on the chandelier, was very well shot and memorable. In short, a film that I thought, even with the opening scene, wasn't going to be my cup of tea - and I wasn't too far wrong.
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A very provocative mix of the Soviet montage school (the inspiration is already evident in the opening credits, when we watch the operation of a certain machine), comic-book narrative and the extravagant aesthetic vision of our most acclaimed director. It takes a while to get used to the disparate episodic plot, the narrative experiments or the theatrical acting of the lead couple, but the cleverly satirical "anti-regime" undertone soon draws you in and leaves you no choice but to stare helplessly at how so much allegory and unconventionality can end up being entertaining and inspiring. Of course, such peculiarity will impress everyone differently, I belong to those with a greater degree of fascination. 80%
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Ahh, the golden 60s, when the ideological barriers and censorship fell, but at the same time generous state support remained, so creators could experiment and mock or make fun of society and the government. It's no wonder that many filmmakers miss those times. The truth is that a number of films from that era wouldn't have been made in so-called normal times. Daisies is an experimental plaything that is far from ordinary film productions and the average moviegoer. The film is valuable for film theorists and dedicated cinephiles in terms of film language, visual composition, editing, and camerawork. On the other hand, it lacks a lot of things that the average moviegoer expects, and the current high rating on FilmBooster is due to snobbery and imitation with a high number of reviews. Overall impression: 40%.
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Gallery (27)
Photo © Moscow International Film Festival
![Daisies - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/161/845/161845008_54a9af.jpg)
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