Valerie a týden divů

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This article is about the 1970 film. For the 1932 novel, see Valerie and Her Week of Wonders.

Valerie a týden divů (in Eng. Trans. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders) is the 1970 Czech film directed by Jaromil Jireš and based on a novel by Vítězslav Nezval.

Jaroslava Schallerová in Valerie a týden divu

The 1970 film adaptation of Valerie a týden divů, directed by Jaromil Jireš, filmed in 1969, stars the then 13-year-old Jaroslava Schallerová as Valerie, with a supporting cast of Helena Anýzovál, Karel Engel, Jan Klusák, Petr Kopriva, among others. Oneiric and ethereal in essence, the film portrays the heroine as living in a disorienting dream, seduced by priests, vampires, men and women alike.

Sound is used in very inventive ways in this film, from the alerting pling-plongs heard which alerts Valerie when she finds her earrings to the cacophonous tick-tocks of the odd spinning cogwheels in the barn. Intense, supersaturated colors and unusual compositions also create an otherworldly effect reminiscent of the Symbolist art movement.

[edit] DVD and Soundtrack Album

The strong worldwide cult following of this film encouraged the sale of bootlegged VHS tapes. It was not until January 2004 that the film became available commercially on the Facets Video label. In June 2004, the film was released on DVD in the UK by Redemption Films Ltd. Both releases present the film in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, but the print quality varies between the two (for more detail see the comparison at dvdbeaver.com).

The soundtrack is set to be released by Finders Keepers Records in November of 2006.

[edit] Influence

Many writers have cited similarities between the film and the work of English writer Angela Carter, who had seen the film during its release in England. Angela's screenplay for The Company of Wolves (adapted, in collaboration with the film's director Neil Jordan, from Carter's short stories) bears a direct or indirect influence. A May 2005 Jireš retrospective film series at Riverside Studios would, in fact, pair the two films together.

The English band Broadcast released a tribute song, "Valerie" on their 2003 album Haha Sound.