Daisies (1966)

Genres - Drama, Comedy  |   Sub-Genres - Abstract Film, Black Comedy, Feminist Film, Satire, Surrealist Film  |   Release Date - Oct 25, 1967 (USA - Limited), Aug 19, 2022 (USA - Rerelease)  |   Run Time - 76 min.  |   Countries - Czechia  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Review by Andrea LeVasseur

A surrealist comedy way ahead of its time, Daisies uses unconventional film techniques in its telling of two girls' wholeheartedly creative way of destroying what surrounds them. An exemplary film in the Czech New Wave movement, Daisies was banned and found director Vera Chytilová out of work. With very little narrative structure, the slapstick antics of the two protagonists, both named Marie, are uniquely funny and subversive. They cut up and devour all life around them, sometimes literally with scissors, in defiantly positive acts of boredom and anger. Bookended by found footage of mushroom clouds, it is apparent that the threat of nuclear war is a source of their rebellion. Indifferent to their various dates, the girls also react against traditional values. Foretelling the D.I.Y. punk movement still a decade away, the girls cut images out of magazines and never stop creating. They cover their apartment in handwritten scribbles, break and smash things with glee, steal food, and even set their bedroom on fire. Eating food is a reoccurring theme that follows through to the denouement, where, in one long take, the two girls wreck an entire banquet hall in a wild tribute to the total disregard of domestic virtues. Then, wearing robotic costumes constructed of wrapped newspaper, they attempt to reset the table and clean everything up in a post-apocalyptic dance. While they robotically tend to the damage, their repeated whispers of propaganda messages are looped into a musical lullaby. The entire sound design is strikingly innovative, exaggerating the clicks of their high heels and associating their actions with disjointed sound elements. Stylistically, the film is sprinkled with numerous camera tricks, color filters, and jarring edits. With no character development -- purposely avoided to focus on theme rather than sense of self -- and a general lack of narrative, Daisies remains difficult for mainstream audiences, yet undoubtedly appears to be a visionary exploration of youth gone wild.