Valerie and Her Week of Wonders: Restored Czech classic screened in Venice
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Jaromil Jireš’s famous 1970 film based on Vítězslav Nezval’s novel, premiered in a newly restored version at the Venice Film Festival on Monday. The poetic, dreamlike film, blending Gothic horror, surrealism and coming-of-age story, is also competing in the Venice Classics section. We spoke about the film, its making and its reception with Michal Bregant, Director of the National Film Archive.
For those who haven't seen the film, could you first tell us a bit about it? What kind of film is it and what makes it so distinctive?
"Well, this is a very extravagant film. It fits in the very broad scope of styles within the Czechoslovak New Wave of the 1960s. But the film itself was produced at the very end of this decade, after the invasion of Warsaw Pact armies into Czechoslovakia.
"It was released in 1970 and it was not considered kind of politically damaging to the new establishment after 1969, so it was released in cinemas.
"But the film didn't get enough attention, so we are very happy that after so many years we were able to bring it to a new light for the new generations of audiences here in Venice."
You said the film was not seen as politically damaging. Does it mean there were no problems with the film's distribution, not only in Czechoslovakia, but also abroad?
"Well, the film didn't have any kind of significant international career, because the beginning of the '70s and, you know, Czechoslovakia was once again in political and cultural isolation.
"The film is a very interesting mixture of genres, it plays with the stereotypes of the Gothic novel, which was originally the inspiration coming from the book of Vítězslav Nezval, the famous poet of the interwar period, when he was trying to explore this unusual genre.
"And then the two main authors of the film, Jaromil Jireš, the director, and Ester Krumbachová, who was the art director, but also a co-author, in a way, because she was also responsible not only for the visual style, but for the dramaturgy of the film. She was very much interested in exploring the edges of what is usually considered a taboo in society."
What did the restoration of the film involve? Were there any particular challenges in restoring it?
"We were quite fortunate that all the film materials, all the film elements were in very good shape, so we could scan the original image negatives and the sound negatives, and then the rest was just the cleaning of traces of time, basically some dust and scratches, which always happen.
"So it was not particularly challenging, but the film now looks really great, and I could see yesterday here in Venice at the screening that the audience has really appreciated that a lot."
And I wanted to ask you about the reception. How have the audiences responded to the film?
"Well, you always see that during the screening, and it was so quiet. The audience was really in big tension, but you could also feel that they were enjoying it a lot.
"And then after the screening, I was one of the first who left the hall in order to see faces and the body language of the people who were leaving the cinema, and they were very happy. So this is the best sign that the film, which is 56 years old now, is still valid and still inspiring for the new generations."
And finally, the film was screened as part of the Venice Classics section. What does it mean for a restored film, like Valerie and her Week of Wonders, to be presented in this section, and what can restored films actually compete for at the festival?
"Well, you know, film heritage or audiovisual heritage is a very important part of the current film industry because it's not only so-called old films. It's something that can be very actively impacting the new audiences.
"So the premiere at a festival like Venice means that we have more gates open to the distribution outside the Czech Republic, and we can reach more distributors at the other festivals.
"Already now, we have booked dozens of screenings of this film internationally."
Can you actually win any awards with restored films?
"Well, this is a huge competition. There's almost 20 films in this section, Venice Classics, and they're very good films.
"Here, it happened to six years ago, when we brought our restoration of Ecstasy, this early 1930s classic of Gustav Machatý. And we didn't expect any award, but then I got a message from the festival that they need me back, you know. So that was the first information that we would win the award for the best restoration.
"But that happened with Ecstasy. I don't know what the chances could be for Valerie and her Week of Wonders. We'll see only at the end of the festival."
But even if you don't win any award, it's already been a huge success.
"Absolutely. This is kind of a motivation for the other distributors to get the license for the film. And also, it's kind of new energy for all of us who are involved in restoration of classic films."
