Daisies (1966) - REVIEW

9/10 || ★★★★½

I sat down to watch Vera Chytilová's second feature film Daisies earlier this month for the second time, and was pleasantly greeted once again by a mind-bending, colorful, and powerfully pastel early Czech New Wave masterpiece. Chytilová's 1966 feminist thinkpiece tells the story of a duo of bored young women (ironically both named Marie) who dive headfirst into the world's decadence, giving into the temptations they were often denied and embracing an indulgent, epicurean lifestyle as they travel. Intercut with the storyline is a variety of black and white stock footage and absurdist collage storytelling to add to the film's nonsensical air. The film explores a search for freedom and its' tendency to push the barriers of morality. Daisies' controversial nature led to a ban in Czechoslovakia, but was praised by critics globally (though some American critics were turned off by its somewhat pretentious nature and sardonic humor). Though the film's giddy, adventurous mood dominates the storyline, there is an undertone of nihilism that holds a darker commentary on the emptiness of bourgeoisie consumption that had become a cultural norm among wealthy, privileged Europeans. Intertwined with the main plot are scenes of attempted suicide, nuclear war, and suffocation under unbridled gluttony. I interpreted Daisies as a visually stunning exposition of of brash, liberated femininity and harrowing hedonism. In conclusion, Chytilová beckons you to eat cake in a milk bath, stand on a chandelier, and tumble into restless waters with reckless abandon and see where it leaves you.