Jaromil Jires tells in Valerie and Her Week of Wonders a story about the coming of age and sexual awareness. Valerie is a thirteen-year-old girl whose life changes shortly after her first period. She inherits magical earing's from her dead mother, but a young man Orlik, who may or may not be her brother, steals them only to return them later. And he's working for a vampire, who may or may not be Valerie's father. What this mysterious creature wants from her is rather mysterious, but all the pieces are in place for a dark fantasy story about how the awareness of one's sexuality changes one.

This movie is rather obsessed with sex, especially with the type that falls outside the normally accepted (and let's not forget this movie was made in 1970): lesbianism, incest, pedophilia, licentious priests, and couples having sex in front of nuns make part of the endless parade of lovely deviances in this movie. I'd love to know what critics thought about it back then.

This movie has a lot of imagination and poetic images, and the vampire makeup may be the best since Nosferatu: imagine a tall, pale man with irregular teeth jutting from his mouth and long ears, wrapped in a black shroud (think of Bergman's Death), enveloping you in his arms. It's quite chilling.

And yet it never captured my attention. The story wanders and meanders and never goes anywhere specific and slowly I became bored with it. The young actress, Jaroslava Schallerová, is pretty to look at, but her role is rather passive. She's an observer, she's a victim, especially of the local priest; but the story just breezes through her.

However I wouldn't deter anyone from watching Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. This is a strange, mysterious movie. As an avant-garde fantasy/horror movie it's worth watching. Truth is, movies like these are seldom made and deserve more attention than they get.

I was thinking this movie was going to be a lot like "The Company of Wolves", a movie I love. It turned out pretty differently.

The Company of Wolves. Despite having symbolism and much of it being a dream/fantasy of a adolescent girl it also had a storyline and an incredible fairy tale setting.

Valerie and her Week of Wonders. From the moment I saw pretty main character Valerie I knew I was in for a visual treat. The only thing in a narrative way that I'm really sure of is that she got her periods for the first time. The rest of the movie looks much like a dream. Fairy tale esque village and woods, fountains, pretty girls in white dresses, vampires, high level of sensuality, kissing, touching (not shying away from things that looked incestuous and lesbianism) even a bit of nudity.

The story it didn't make much sense, I think it was after all a dream (and how often does a dream make sense?) and the viewer is free to give its own interpretation to it. Even though I usually like a pretty clear storyline I did like this movie. For some reason whatever Valerie did, experienced or observed it was never boring. I'm sure on a re-watch I'll gain even more from it.

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.