DAISIES

Věra Chytilová’s DAISIES follows two young women who decide that if the world is spoiled, they shall be spoiled too. What begins as mischief quickly escalates into a series of disruptions, pranks, and acts of refusal that push against social rules, gender expectations, and the idea of acceptable behaviour. The film moves through fragmented scenes, psychedelic colours, abrupt cuts, and playful destruction, refusing continuity in both form and character.

The two Maries are not written as individuals in a conventional sense. They behave as if the world around is something to test rather than inhabit. Food, bodies, and objects are pulled apart, consumed, rearranged, and discarded. The tone shifts constantly between humour and irritation, charm and confrontation.

DAISIES was controversial on release and faced censorship in its native Czechoslovakia, in part because of its depiction of waste and its refusal to offer a moral framework. What remains striking is how directly it challenges the expectation that women on screen must behave, develop, or be understood.