259 of 1001 Movies: Daisies (1966)

It was as expected is about the biggest thing I can say about this movie. If you're an art house fanatic though they seem to really enjoy it and rate it highly. Honestly, the overall reviews are very positive. I have to commend it for it's use of imagery, but I've never been huge on having no plot, and characters that are virtually so cartoonish there is nothing I can connect with. The two leads in this movie though are reflecting some heavy concepts of the 60's, and even easy to relate to themes now. They don't know what they stand for or who they want to be, so they just end up being bad.

Summary: Two teen girls, Marie and Marie II, begin pulling pranks and leading a destructive life once they believe that they understand everyone is spoiled, so why shouldn't they be to? They end up going out on dates with older men, breaking younger men's hearts, and demolishing belongings that aren't theirs. They challenge the world in their world, but by the end of the world they are questioning just if they want to be bad anymore.


Acting: The movie enlists Czeck actresses' Ivana Karbonova and Jitka Cerhova. Now I think they portray the carefree and character of the women as people very well. I found their acting believable so much so to the point they were really annoying, and I don't know that that was the purpose at all of their performance. Their voices were very high and the way they reacted to things made me think of the negative portrayal of dumb women in society. Instead this movie is supposed to be making a feminist statement with how these women are questioning their own roles in society, but I couldn't get past how they acted.

Filming: Where a lot of the intriguing talent came in that kept me watching was in how they movie was shot, sometimes the colors were utilized so much so that I felt was going to get a headache though. There were these bright red colors that would shift into blue casts. They also even had scenes that utilized the technique you see on the poster art included with this post. Perhaps the most memorable scene of all though is when Marie and Marie II begin snipping at each other with scissors till a lot of little papers are scattered on the screen along with their body parts.

Plot: There is a tiny plot, one where the two women are building upon a revelation about their own lives, but expect it to be deep and vague. I think the reason this movie is so popular because unlike a lot of artsy movies that try to make a point they usually miss it or get so caught up on the art that the story loses it's point, and this is one of the better ones where that doesn't happen, and it has that whole avant garde vibe that was popular in the 60's as well, which ruins a lot of movies for me usually.

Vera Chytilova directs this movie that features a rare portrayal of women. I don't think the Marie's are dumb, but their outlook on life has just made them appear that way when they actually are trying to look at it quite deeply. Overall, you might have to be into these types of movies to really enjoy it. There is some good use of art in the movie, but I really love a good story, and this doesn't catch that for me.