Upon hearing the title Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, one might assume that they are in store for a delicious straight-forward 70's sexual romp along the lines of Emmanuelle or Rochelle Rochelle (Insert game show buzzer here). Wrong, dead wrong. But dead wrong in a mighty fine way, for Valerie is a smashing 70's success at combining the elements of a grotesque fairy tale, horror flick and sensual romp. All of these elements combined formulate a cinematic tale that is going to please and stimulate just as many as its gonna piss off to no end, ahhhhh - such is the magic of cin-e-ma! Bravo!

The story of Valerie and her s'posed "week of wonders" is a very difficult one to dissect in a single paragraph. Told in a most non-linear of fashions, the gist of it all has to do with a young woman, named Valerie (that's the easy part). Valerie is given a pair of earrings that seem to retain some sort of magical power. The earrings allow Valerie to see the world around her as it really is. Full of greed, corruption and enough sexual deviance to make any early 70's filmgoer's head do a complete 360.

That's not all though folks. Turns out that Valerie's village is swarming with the undead and she's promptly introduced to a bizarre world of horror and sexual atrocities by her youth stealing grandmother and a creepy priest that would make any catholic switch to Judaism in a heartbeat, welcome aboard! Once again, we're presented with these odd aesthetics in a non-linear, dreamlike fashion, sure to be appreciated by some, condemned by others.

There's a lot to like about Valerie and Her Week of Wonders including the lavish sets, costumes and scenery. The film has a stupendous visual sense that would certainly cause even the most seasoned film geek to wince. Aesthetically, this film has got it goin' on (for lack of a better term) and then some. But, beyond all of these reasons, the true standout for succumbing to Valerie is the films attitude towards the subject matter at hand. In attempting to pull a film like this off, it's easy to be lazy and to come across as pretentious or holier than thou, while Valerie manages to escape the cliché and stand on her own.

Blending elements of horror, fantasy and eroticism, Valerie's story is told in a dreamlike, whimsical fashion. When first presented with the new world around her, Valerie's first reaction is that of wonder and the curiosity to explore, even if she's forced to watch a woman being brutally whipped by the most beefcake-iest of oiled up grease-monkeys. Valerie easily transitions her attitude when needed and even scoffs at her accusers when she's tied to a stake - in suspicion of being a witch. It's not long before Valerie's what the fuck attitude takes hold when she realizes that she might as well go with the flow - when there's an inkling of a chance that she may be trapped in a dream, but perhaps it's a dream that one will never awaken.

Presented on DVD from Facets Home Video, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is a mixed blessing. Presented in Czech with English subtitles, I'm sorry to say that the English subs are non-removable. Going even further, Valerie appears to have been culled from a video source for this release. Still, presented full frame (It's hard to notice and cropping, framing looks accurate) Valerie looks pretty good here all things considered. There is some slight print damage, colors are a bit muted, and there is a slight video haze (black levels are a bit low as a result of this). The mono Czech audio sounds fine, with really no evidence of distortion or background noise.

The only extra is a still of a cartoon maze based on the flick. While the cover boasts the fact that there is "a richly informative booklet" included, it was nowhere to be found with my copy of the flick. Until Valerie is given the complete digital overhaul, this release is easily recommendable. Spend a week with Valerie, you won't be disappointed.

Buy it at www.xploitedcinema.com