Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
Casey Duggan
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
laetitiapayombo
Once upon a time there was filmmakers free to do whatever they wanted and it was glorious! This movie is purely refreshing. Between Nosferatu, Lolita and Alice, there's this erotic fantasy. Freedom without judgment. I'm not sure I understood everything, but isn't it the point? Like a dream a little bit dizzy a little bit confused. It was weird and magical. Valerie and her week of wonders is the best Alice I've ever seen. This movie is a delightful experience.
hellraiser7
Growing up can be a funny thing because of how it can truly change our perceptions of things that we thought we knew, only as we've came to a certain age we discover new and hidden things that shakes our early perception completely.This is one of my favorite films of all time, I'll admit it's one of the most bizarre fantasy films I've ever seen which is all the more why I love it. It's one of those films that really challenge your perceptions that it may take more than one watch to uncover more, which is part of what makes the world in the film fascinating and adventurous because there are just so many things going on.The music score is just beautiful it's one of my favorite scores of all time, it's a very calming and mysterious melody which perfectly fits the film.I really like the locale and the effects they used which were all practical, this was done on a modest budget but it was just used well and right just further showing you can make more with little. I really love the world that the film has constructed it's a bit reminiscent of Downworld in the TV show "The Odyssey" because its a very strange land as it seems like one that has no clear sense of time as we see most things from medieval, Victorian, or even a bit of the 1920's as we see some drives in a buggie not a carriage; so you never know where this is taking place almost like something out of a dream. It's grounded in reality but at the same time it isn't, wonderful things happen but also bad things as well which makes the place and the movie itself unpredictable.The story as it a Brother Grimm or "Alice in Wonderland" like fantasy that tells of Valerie growing up and her misadventures in her hometown as just a lot of crazy crap is happening all around her, as we as some really really confusing family drama that really put the twists to soaps to shame.This film is really made more for the visuals and the visuals are just beautiful and fantastic there is just so much that is interesting and so much that might make you say "What the Frak?" From the beautiful images like seeing Valerie swimming in a giant sized fountain as the sun is shining making both the water and her radiant as well as her room which is sort of her private sanctuary. Down to just Valerie herself the actress that plays her is just great, it's a shame she didn't have more, she really has a presence as her physically looks just radiate beauty and innocence. Even in some of the disturbing images from some sort of crypt. A Nosferatu like vampire character whom is creepy, mysterious, and nasty. a group of guys flogging themselves, it's just things you have to see to believe.In a way at times the movie is almost a Christian film as there are some allegories and symbols in places. Most notable the fruit that we always see displayed and Valerie eats which is an apple. And of course in the Adam and Eve story it's considered the forbidden fruit, as it is a symbol of not just knowledge but also metaphoric on sexual awakening. And of course Valerie boyfriend (or brother) name is Eaglet basically Eagle, he's sort of a angel figure as he constantly helps Valerie even from a distance. The Norsferatu like figure is sort of a version of The Serpent as he is constantly tempting and deceiving anyone to everyone around him.The film gets at many themes like our common curiosity and fear of what happens in adulthood and sexuality, the desire for darkness and corruption, the age old conflict motif of old vs. young, and disillusionment.This film is an experience that will keep you wondering about Valerie's wonders and our own.Rating: 4 stars
Woodyanders
Sweet and virginal young lass Valerie (well played with wide-eyed charm to spare by the delicately fetching Jaroslava Schallerova) undergoes a sexual awakening in a strange, yet sensual fantasy land where she runs afoul of a creepy vampiric being known as Polecat (a marvelously sinister portrayal by Jiri Prymek) and gets accused by the superstitious locals of witchcraft.Director Jaromil Jires, who also co-wrote the thoughtful script with Ester Krumbachova, does a masterful job of crafting a beguilingly dreamy and surreal atmosphere that's bristling with dark emotions, barely suppressed carnal desires, and severe religious repression. Moreover, Jire not only manages the remarkable feat of presenting a genuinely arousing mood that never becomes too explicit or remotely exploitative, but also delivers a potent and provocative central message on the impossibility of preserving a state of childlike innocence for perpetuity. Petr Kopriva contributes a likable turn as Valerie's smitten boyfriend Eaglet while Helena Anyzova does impressive work in the dual roles of both Valerie's stern grandmother and wicked aunt Elsa. Jan Curik's sumptuous cinematography offers a wealth of striking poetic imagery. Lubos Fiser's gentle folkloric score hits the harmonic spot. Recommended viewing for fans of esoteric cinematic fare.
xenophile2002
Often I get things I've wanted to see for some time, but for one reason or another never did. Or something I've seen before, but it was a long time ago, and I'd like to see again. Especially if there are DVD extras I HAVEN'T seen.Sometimes, though, I like to get something I've never heard of, something which the blurb makes sound interesting, something which seems like it *might* be the sort of thing I might like, but which is a bit of a risk. Sometimes this results in my mailbox sagging from the dead weight of a real clunker, and I find myself wishing I hadn't been so adventurous.But sometimes I wind up seeing something like _Valerie and Her Week of Wonders_, and I'm glad that I *was* adventurous. This easily makes up for the last clunker, no, for the last TWO clunkers I got in red envelopes.Is Valerie dreaming? For somebody being burned at the stake, this barely-teen seems rather unconcerned. Is her father a dead bishop, a vampire, or the Weasel? Or is the vampire a bishop? Or is the bishop the Weasel? Is Eagle her boyfriend? Her brother? Is her mother not really dead, or is it that her cousin? How did she know that her cousin is actually...Can Valerie evade lusty priests, incest which maybe isn't, and beware the Weasel? Can the girl ever get a good night's sleep? Or is she getting exactly that, now?
