Now, I’m gonna haveta go back and check for myself, but I think I may have teased that today’s feature was gonna be some big Japanese mash-up. And, yeah, it originally was gonna be Sadako Vs Kayako today, the long-awaited (???) confrontation between the respective spirits from the Ju-On and Ringu franchises. Things is, certain things came to light regarding the mixing of the franchises, and it looks as though it would be better served by next year’s edition of Nightmare Fuel, which, if I haven’t mentioned before, (spoilers:) will cover series of films. Gonna be interesting.
Anyway, once I determined that SvK wouldn’t be today’s starter, I scrambled to find myself a replacement, particularly one that would fit with the international tour thing we’ve got going on at the moment. Luckily, it didn’t take long to land on a film I’ve had my eye on for a few years, so follow me, won’t you? We’re headed for Iran to take a look at Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.
The film shows us Bad City, an Iranian ghost town, and the denizens thereof, mostly junkies, hookers, and generally seedy folks. Of primary interest is young Arash, who’s burdened with caring for his father, a heroin addict. This puts him in a precarious situation within a town that clearly doesn’t have much capacity for compassion. Whilst under the influence of some Madchester goodness, Arash runs into an enigmatic young woman, with whom he develops a connection. Unbeknownst to him, though, this girl is harboring a dark secret: she’s a vampire, stalking the streets at night and feeding on those who weigh the community down. Is this a love that can survive, or will only tears result?
I’ll admit, that last bit isn’t really what the film’s about at all, I just needed a capstone for that paragraph. Sorry.
Amirpour’s blending of genres here – including westerns, vampire flicks, even echoes of noir, the French New Wave, and Italian neo-realism – is draped in a strong visual style, the gritty monochrome evoking eerie cityscapes like Eraserhead’s and providing plenty of deep, dark shadows that envelop our lines of sight. The atmosphere is gothic and poetic, not wholly unlike a black take on the work of Lynne Ramsay, but with a bit of punk swagger tossed in for good measure. The acting is generally strong throughout, led by Arash Marandi as something of a sensitive Arash and Sheila Vand as the unnamed vampire girl, who’s got some of the more expressive eyes you’re likely to see these days (definitely a plus for a vampire, amiright?).
Most interesting to me is how Amirpour is able to warp and manipulate some of the traditional vampire-movie tropes and imagery thanks to the Persian flair tossed into the equation. Thanks to the black-and-white aesthetic, the Girl’s chador both works to both accentuate her face, not unlike the classic Dracula (and Barry Levinson’s Morticia Addams) highlighting the blood-sucker’s eyes out of the darkness, and also as something of a makeshift Middle Eastern cape (she’s often seen fluttering her garb like a cloak while in motion). Much like Bram Stoker’s messaging in Dracula wherein eastern-tinged influences have something of a corrupting effect on proper London society (that’s definitely abridged, but it’s still the gist of what he was getting at, at least to a degree), here our vampire preys on Bad City under the influence of so-called Western (check the capital dub there) culture, particularly ‘80s music. And, of course, the oft-frowned-upon – if not outright outlawed (it’s been a while since I looked into the situation in Iran, so feel free to correct/inform me here) – of the title act is flipped on its head, transferring the inherent power in the dynamic from the ruling power structure to the lone female, a similar shift to Stoker’s, just with different societal ramifications (slightly).
While much of the music didn’t jive with me, and I felt that a few scenes malingered on screen, I thought this film was pretty damn good, well worthy of the praise I’ve seen tossed its way over the past few years. Makes me wanna take a chance on her newest effort, The Bad Batch, at some point, that’s for sure. Give it a go if you’re looking for something rather different from your usual vampire fare.
Allusions of Grandeur 