Sedmikrasky (1966)

In film and theater class this week, we screened Vera Chytilova's Sedmikrasky (Daisies). It's one of the most bizarre films I've seen. Of course it hasn't de-throned Un chien andalou as THE most bizarre, but it's definitely one of the most unique ones I've seen. We were covering Czech New Wave and this was our example, Czech with English subtitles. The editing is brilliant. and this is from '66 when they cut up their film and edited by splicing it together. Not sure of the film stock, but the colours were so vibrant. It's a psychedelic experimental with no strong narrative thread.


So anyhoo, the film is about two young women, both named Marie (Jitka Cerhova and Ivana Karbanova), doing absolutely anything and everything they want. And doing anything to get it. They don't have a care in the world and hustle older men into wining and dining them, while the girls take off on them after. Then there will be an interlude of disjointed words and a sort of Brechtian thing happening when the two sit propped up or in various poses, reciting some kind of poetry, looking toward the camera, sometimes blowing on a trumpet. This is when the trippy editing would happen. The film would change to a series of monochrome colours one after the other, repeating the same image. Also, There would be a series of static, close up shots of different flowers, daisies being the main motif.


These girls ate and ate and ate. They scammed other people into buying them food, they stole food and got obnoxiously drunk whenever they could. They looked totally joyful and stress-free doing whatever they wanted. Apparently, it's supposed to be a commentary on the rampant consumerism at the time (or so I read). I could not take my eyes off of this film. And the two Marie's were perfect, especially the darker haired Marie. I was mesmerized by her the entire time she was on screen. It's just one of those films everybody should experience at least once. It caused such a brouhaha in Czechoslovakia, that it was banned for a year and Chytilova never received any more state funds for her filmmaking. From Cahiers du Cinemart, "My one and only preoccupation is to stimulate reaction from the viewer, to make him think, consider, analyze problems. What I may think or say is of no importance. What matters, for me, is that others should think when they see my films. I want to make people think," says director Vera Chytilová. Very creative and interesting ending.

More ramblings to come.....