Valerie a Týden Divů (1945, 1970, CZ)

[renart]

Lengthy but fascinating Kinoeye film review here.

I finished reading Vitezslav Nezval's Valerie and Her Week of Wonders early yesterday. It was good, but the icing on the cake was an essay by Giuseppe Dierna at the end including analyses of Nezval and Max Ernst and themes in Surrealism. One particular recurrence in the Czech Surrealist works of the 30s (aside from animal masks...) was androgyny and the 'separation of the two,' which was also one of the major issues in Valerie. Of course, the whole thing was ganked from Greek mythology regarding the hermaphrodite, but this has always interested me, mostly because I feel that the concept of 'missing halves' in gender might affect both the relationships and the gender identity of individuals. It's something to think about, anyway.


--just not right now since it's like two in the morning.


May I add that I really hate getting up for 8:00 classes again.