Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

1970

1 hr. 25 min.

Drama

Fantasy

List

81%

21 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Valerie (Jaroslava Schallerová), a Czechoslovakian teenager living with her grandmother, is blossoming into womanhood, but that transformation proves secondary to the effects she experiences when she puts on a pair of magic earrings. Now seeing the world around her in a different light, Valerie must endure her sexual awakening while attempting to discern reality from fantasy as she encounters lecherous priest Gracian (Jan Klusák), a vampire-like stranger and otherworldly carnival folk.

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Premiered Jun 02

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Audience Member

There's some incredibly beautiful imagery on display here but the narrative is dream-like to the point of confusion. All sorts of psychosexual metaphors going on but it doesn't coalesce into a great whole. Best viewed as a kind of surrealist fantasy without trying to read too much into it I think.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

24.05.2021 ---------

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Lanngeax .

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders can be confusing, but it's a complete pleasure to eyes and ears, with its delightful score and its cinematography that mixes bright colours perfectly. The result is a perfect dreamlike blend of fantasy and horror. And the word "dreamlike" is an accurate word to describe this masterpiece. Director Jaromil Jires demonstrates his talent with this film and now I see why he's considered as one of the directors that changed Czech films.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/29/21

Full Review

david h

If you can imagine Nosferatu invading a Pre-Raphaelite painting, you may connect to this imagery laden dark fairy tale. The characters meander around in a flowing, yet condensed arena that pulled me in and had me the whole way.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

There is a lot of symbolism at play here, so if you're into that... Also the supernatural aspects are fun. The realm of what's possible is greatly expanded in this film's universe. Also, like a lot of its Czech peers, this film is highly sensual and erotic. Too bad it comes off kind of schlocky at times.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Hypnotic in every sense of lost romanticism, if a film could be adorable, well this one is. Some of its edges are rough and unpolished, but tall tales of steamy teens makes for ultimate divine backlash and lime green serenity. Everyone does there job with a fine hint of style and Valerie with gifting grace.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

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Jaromil Jires

Director

Jaroslava Schallerová

Valerie

Petr Kopriva

Orlík

Jirí Prýmek

Tchor-konstábl

Jan Klusák

Gracián

Helena Anyzova

Babicka

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Some may find it weird and wonderful. I just found it weird. But a sight for sore eyes just the same, if you can keep them open.

Oct 7, 2020

Full Review

Mike D'Angelo

AV Club

What matters most is whether one finds Valerie's seemingly random episodes of lyrical grotesquerie mesmerizing or enervating.

Rated: C-

Oct 7, 2020

Full Review

Patrick Gibbs

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Style, I can safely say, perfectly suits this view of the subject.

Oct 7, 2020

Full Review

Soham Gadre

Vague Visages

As much as I love a good story, the best movies always transport me, in an intangible sense, through the base elements.

Jan 9, 2024

Full Review

Christopher Hudson

The Spectator

Valerie and her Week of Wonders, a Czech film about an adolescent girl and her fantasies about vampirism, is so fey and kitsch as hardly to be retained upon the retina, let alone survive in the memory.

Oct 7, 2020

Full Review

Graham Rickson

The Arts Desk

This is essential viewing, and one of the great 20th century fantasy films.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 7, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Valerie (Jaroslava Schallerová), a Czechoslovakian teenager living with her grandmother, is blossoming into womanhood, but that transformation proves secondary to the effects she experiences when she puts on a pair of magic earrings. Now seeing the world around her in a different light, Valerie must endure her sexual awakening while attempting to discern reality from fantasy as she encounters lecherous priest Gracian (Jan Klusák), a vampire-like stranger and otherworldly carnival folk.

Director: Jaromil Jires
Screenwriter: Ester Krumbachová, Jaromil Jires
Production Co: Filmové studio Barrandov
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Original Language: Czech
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 2, 2015

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