
Daisies (ENG subs)
Voorstellingen
Regisseur: Věra Chytilová
Cast: Ivana Karbanová, Jitka Cerhová
Speelduur: 76 min
Jaar: 1966
The refreshingly radical Daisies follows no rules and is exuberantly anarchistic. Czechoslovakia, 1966—two years before the Russian invasion. Marie I and Marie II, two free-spirited young women, are bored. The communist culture is drab and devoid of imagination, so they decide to shake things up. Donning swimsuits and brightly colored dresses, they engage in wild food fights, take what they need, and completely disrupt the ordinary flow of life. For the "daisies" in the title, nothing is sacred—everything and everyone becomes the target of their surreal, subversive satire. Humor and joy become their form of protest in a society that upholds collectivism and political conformity as its highest values.
Věra Chytilová was a pioneer of the Czech New Wave. As early as 1962, she was creating personal and controversial films. Initially, the Communist Party sought to ban Daisies for its "nihilistic" tone but eventually relented under pressure from the younger generation. However, the authorities imposed a work ban on Chytilová until 1975. By then, the "socialism with a human face" promised by party leader Alexander Dubček had vanished entirely following the events of 1968.
A 4K-restored classic.
Spoken in Czech, subtitled in English.