Vera Chytilová
When everything is going bad in the world, the only solution is to go bad yourself, right? In Daisies, Marie I and Marie II seem to think so too. As a part of the Czech New Wave, this film differs from no other of the movement, defying traditionalist notions the communist regime enforced at the time. The film doesn’t have a particular storyline but follows the lives of two young girls who don’t care about authority. The girls trick older men into buying them food, they eat greedily, drink endlessly, and cause a commotion.
In one particular scene, as they satisfyingly cut a sausage, egg and banana with scissors, one can only assume that these girls oppose the idea of reproduction, and the organs which help it function. By doing so, they defy patriarchy and men in one go.
Rebellion is essentially anachronistic, and channelling its themes in film can be especially challenging. It is an action provoked by a form of oppression of a certain time. Actions of rebellion certainly won’t be the same now, as they were in the 1960s. And for that reason, when watching films like this, from a contemporary perspective, they can almost seem drab. But, these girls defy that. They are timeless anarchists, even when watched today. The film is punk before punk. In attitude, rather than style.
Daisies
director VĚRA CHYTILOVÁ
year 1966
director of photography JAROSLAV KUČERA
cast JITKA CERHOVÁ, IVANA KARBANOVÁ, MARIE ČEŠKOVÁ, JIŘINA MYŠKOVÁ and MARCELA BŘEZINOVÁ
words PRIYESH PATEL
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