Experimentalism Buffet

"Punch and Judy" (short film)
Dir: Jan Svankmajer
Premier: 1966
Viewed: 3/9/09


"Daisies" (feature)
Dir: Vera Chitilova
Premier: 1966
Viewed: 3/9/09
Review: I enjoyed Punch and Judy. It was pretty hard to follow, but the fact that I once owned a guinea pig made the guest animal a point of interest. The plot made just a little more sense after the discussion. “Daisies” was exactly what it was advertised to be: a FEATURE LENGTH experimental film! It was one that, to my chagrin, utilized pretty much every sound effect that could possibly rub me the wrong way. From creaking to smacking food, the film was an ear-sore. I also didn’t appreciate the utter desecration of a full spread of perfectly good food. Along with the burning of young female characters, that gets under my skin! And the voices on these two! That said, I thought certain scenes in “Daisies” were infectiously enjoyable. And I could tell by certain recurring scenes that the film was trying to say something.

There was a comedian who I feel had a point. He suggested that over the years, society tends to be more forgiving of a more attractive woman’s ranting, whether or not they are actually “on point”. Conversely, It’ll have few reservations about telling the less attractive counterpart to “shut it!”, ESPECIALLY when they’re right. Not to say that their message wasn’t valid, but I wonder how long one would have sat through all…that, had the two leads not been easy to look at.