"Chytilova's avant-garde comedy, Daisies, is the ravishing beauty among these Czech titles. Richer and more profound than conventional film narratives, Daisies follows the outrageous escapades of two female friends, both named Marie (Jitka Cerhova and Ivana Karbanova), as they enact a rampage of mischievous destruction and flirty anarchy. Out of the moviegoer's eye for some time, a significant film like Daisies loses its sense of importance when it loses its familiarity. Few films, Western or otherwise, share Daisies' sense of playful irony. Holding tight to its feminist themes, Chytilova has made a film where the female protagonists remain constantly in control.Daisies helps explain how cheeky Czech New Wave films helped the country come to terms with its violent history of political repression. Through a film like Daisies, Czech audiences possess an artistic outlet for criticizing their Communist authorities. Enraged by its climax, where the two Maries destroy a luxurious banquet hall, government leaders banned the film, only agreeing to briefly release it one year later."
