Wk 2 – When Iran Meets Vampires

Since there were no concrete tutes this week, I thought I’d give a little review of sorts –

A mod, hijab-clad vampire cruises the sullen streets of Bad City on a stolen skateboard, searching for her next victim. She spies a James Dean-esque boy who is high on ecstasy and dressed as Dracula. This is the beginning of an unconventional relationship – a middle eastern feminist vampire romance if you will. 

Excuse me whilst I revel in the brilliance that is Ana Lily Amirpour’s ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.’ Shot in black and white, the film etches a cloying, sad and solemnly fantastical story, which borrows stylistic elements from David Lynch’s ‘Wild at Heart’ and trashy comics. In stating that though, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

Set against the backdrop of an intermediate wasteland, a contemporary Arab rock meets 80s New Wave soundtrack dominates each scene – tying in the ‘California meets Iran’ vibe that Amirpour wishes to convey. The eccentric ensemble (a gangster drug dealer and past-her-prime prostitute included) that occupies the seemingly lawless town adds to the grimy atmosphere that the film feeds the audience and works well in establishing the madness of the piece.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night had me exiting the cinema saying “What. The. Fuck. Yes. YES” but also enraptured with a new found love for Arab electro – reflecting the woozy spell that Amirpour is sure to have you trapped in.