Czech New Wave

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EllieJelly

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Aug 12, 2013
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I recently viewed two films which I really enjoyed, one called Daisies (Sedmikrásky) and one called Valerie and her Week of Wonders (Valerie a týden divu).

I was hoping someone might have some suggestions of similar films they enjoyed. They don't have to be Czech, just anything with a similar atmosphere.

Or, if you'd rather talk about the films I mentioned, that's fun too! :)
 

Johnny Novgorod

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Feb 9, 2012
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I watched Daisies a couple of years ago. I've seen my share of surreal movies about prancy-dancy characters doing whatever and frankly I'm a little sick of those at this point. But yes, it's a fun movie, and it works better if you're well acquainted with what the country was going through at the time.

Luis Buñuel made similar movies (in the surreal/rebellious sense) around that time too. Belle de jour, about a high-class bored femme who turns to prostitution; La Voie lactée, about two pilgrims trekking to Santiago de Compostela throught time and space; Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie, about a group of people on a quest to find a restaurant where to eat and Cet obscur objet du désir, about a man torn between two women played by the same actress. All these movies feature strong/sadistic female roles and are of a surreal nature, hence the Daisies connection.

Roman Polanki's early movies are also a good start. Repulsion is probably his best movie.

Back to Czech films, you can check out Jan Svankmajer's work. He has tons of short films in YouTube. He works with stop-motion animation, they're all kind of grotesque and hilarious. He also has an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, which I have not seen, which blends live-action and stop-motion.

I would also recommend Andrej Tarkovsky's movies Zerkalo and Nostalghia, but those are considerably paced at slower rates and have a more ominous, sober tone.