Daisies (Sedmikrasky) (1967)

83% of users liked it
(2,847 ratings)

An exercise in avant-garde cinema that is freshly humorous and accessible, Daisies is a dark comedy that eschews a traditional narrative for a Dadaist construction of events. Perpetually dressed in vibrantly corresponding costumes and dark black eyeliner, Marie and Marie work together to create… More An exercise in avant-garde cinema that is freshly humorous and accessible, Daisies is a dark comedy that eschews a traditional narrative for a Dadaist construction of events. Perpetually dressed in vibrantly corresponding costumes and dark black eyeliner, Marie and Marie work together to create mischief. Seeing the world ruined and values worthless, they decide to "go bad." They stage various dinner dates with stale old men, eat and drink merrily while telling lies, and, in a fast-motion Chaplinesque bit of slapstick, they hop trains and lose the men. Always looking for new adventures, the girls get drunk at a nightclub and get kicked out in a grand physical comedy style. They sit around their apartment and destroy things with a deadpan whimsy, apathetic to the men professing their love. Pursuing adventure about town, the two Maries take a dumbwaiter up to a banquet hall and proceed to delightfully demolish it. Using both black-and-white and color film stock, the girls' antics are enhanced by innovative special effects and camera tricks by cinematographer Jaroslav Kucera. Historically a key film in the Czech New Wave movement, Daisies was banned and director Vera Chytilová was forbidden to work until 1975. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 14 min.
Directed By: Vera Chytilová
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1966 Wide
On DVD: Mar 8, 2005
Studio: Criterion Collection

Critic Reviews

Jordan Cronk, Slant Magazine
Six unique, groundbreaking films from the late 1960s Czechoslovakian cinematic renaissance-all but one making its Region1 debut-find a proper home in Criterion's vital Eclipse line.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Seems to drag and become tiresome and overlong even at only 74 minutes.

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Featured Audience Ratings

First L

Made in 1966 Czechoslovakia, director Vera Chytilová's surrealist "Daisies" was banned by the Czechoslovakian government soon after it's release. Not that it was so unusual for the soviet Czech government to ban films, but looking back now, it's hard to… More
Made in 1966 Czechoslovakia, director Vera Chytilová's surrealist "Daisies" was banned by the Czechoslovakian government soon after it's release. Not that it was so unusual for the soviet Czech government to ban films, but looking back now, it's hard to understand what their specific beef was. Granted, there are no overt proletarian ovations to be found here, but nor is it some sort of secret capitalist conspiracy. Inspired by the French new wave, it could most closely be considered some sort of nihilistic farce, but even that might be too specific a classification for a film so mysteriously vague. Daisies defies categorization as such. It seems to stem directly from the id of it's director, who doesn't so much explain things as she does allow them to happen. As abstract as whatever the story might be, the filmmaking process is hyper-detailed. Scenes of apparent little consequence are crafted with such fine attention to the miniscule minutiae of background scenery. It could almost be considered obsessive-compulsive the amount of effort put into the "fine print" details. The film arbitrarily switches from black-and-white to various "strip" shades of color; images are filmed through various lenses, in effect, demonstrating great proficiency in the technological art of film craft. It would be almost impossible to deny there is an art to the madness happening on the screen. But what of the "story"? Well, two bored girls eat a lot, then pursue various older men for the purpose of somehow toying with their hearts. They sometimes go to visit a motherly figure who lives in a woman's public restroom and sings all her dialogue to them about how lovely and young they are. Finally, they stumble upon a large, empty banquet room where a feast has been laid out and is unattended. They help themselves to the food and destroy everything in the process. "Why", you ask? I cannot say with any certainty. This is a film of the subconscious, there's no rhyme or reason, save whatever the filmmaker was feeling at the time. It's up to the individual viewer to determine what the film actually means. All I can say with certainty is, the film gives us a look into the gently mischievous moments of youth.
Stella D

terrific, subversive, anarchic and bold
Coxxie M

Banned? for what? filming an Adam Sandler premise in strange colors and showing young girls drinking wine?
Jennifer X

What a weird, surreal, avant-garde, trippy, cool kind of movie! Though I definitely wouldn't watch it again, I love how aged yet neo age it is!
AJ V

I didn't get to see the entire movie, I don't think, but what I saw was overly experimental and artsy. If you like that kind of movie, then you'll like this, if not don't watch it. I didn't care for it.
Eric B

This absurdist romp is a sensuous delight, even if it doesn't add up to much. Two sexy, 20-ish girls decide the world is going bad, so they might as well go bad too. To that end, they run around pulling pranks, teasing men, playing with food, taunting each other and generally… More
This absurdist romp is a sensuous delight, even if it doesn't add up to much. Two sexy, 20-ish girls decide the world is going bad, so they might as well go bad too. To that end, they run around pulling pranks, teasing men, playing with food, taunting each other and generally acting like bratty, self-involved children. Um, yeah. That's about it. But the thin plot is not what's important -- the lure is in the filmmaking. Whimsical editing and brilliant use of color, including an odd fascination with archaic tinting, are what really sell the film. Despite the misleading poster, Daisies really doesn't come off as "psychedelic," but it does capture the freewheeling spirit of '60s youth. Enjoy!