A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

Touches You

Great Film overall

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Pouya Salimiyan Ms. H. Manzo Creative Writing A Girl Walks Home Alone At NightForeign movies get a bad rap; we make excuses to avoid watching them. Excuses like "I don't understand the cultural aspect of the movie so I can't relate to it" or "the true meaning of the movie is lost in translation", or the classic "I don't want to read subtitles." But every once in awhile there is a movie that bears the need to be watched, once in awhile there is a movie that transcends cultural, national, and in this case (the movie being completely in Farsi) lingual barriers. This movie is so transcendent in these aspects, not because it is powered by the full force of two of the most creative and well-developed sources of inspiration, classic Iranian cinema and a snapshot of 1950s Americana, but because it offers commentary on the socio- cultural position of women in Iranian society. The criticism of this lopsided power dynamic is poignant because it is allowed to flourish without the censor of the government. To the outsider watching A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014), the movie seems to be, in the director's (Ana Lily Amirpour's) own words, an "American inspired, Iranian, vampire western." In reality, the movie is so much more. Don't get me wrong, the interplay and intersections with which these genres are blended in this neo-noir masterpiece are so subtle that they seem to take on another life, rather than adhering to their genre archetypes. But the implications of this movie are far more ever reaching. This movie is on the surface about a vampire, a boy, a pimp, a junkie, and a prostitute. The connection between the characters becomes more pronounced as the two story lines, centered on the characters Girl (Sheila Vand) and Arash (Arash Marandi) converge.Girl is a vampire who prowls the streets of "Bad City" in a conservative religious outfit - Chador - that covers her from head to toe, stalking possible victims while looking for prey. In her outward appearance (given the chador) she is, even among those in Iranian society, considered conservative. However, the symbol that is the vampire evokes a powerful and conspicuously sexual connotation. Through the use of this archetype, the creator is shedding light on the lack of gender equality in Iran. In her home, as a contrast to her outward appearance, Girl dances and is virtually indistinguishable from any western woman. This reflects the abstraction of women in Iranian society as people, who like men, are capable of independent thought and action. An opposite view being the prevailing mindset in most but not all of the Iranian society. Making Girl a vampire was the only way for the director and writer (Ana Lily Amirpour) to give a woman any tangible power in Iranian society. The other characters serve only for either her nourishment and satiation or plot advancement. Arash (Arash Marandi,) the only man with a major role who treats women with what Girl considers respect, is allowed to live. The pair becomes romantically involved and eventually, in the story's ending which is more hopeful than anything else, drive off into the black-and-white sunset together and leave the rundown "Bad City" behind them. The movie in and of itself is a directorial and narrative win and is worth watching based on these pillars alone. But, if one were to consider oneself a true lover and believer in the nuance of film, of applied and concerted brilliance, and of insights so slight yet impactful that they escape boundaries set by culture and skip into pure empathic understanding: repeated viewing is recommended. That's at least what I thought was necessary.

For me, this was a movie about loneliness and love - every single person in this movie is so lonely and lost and searching for beauty and light - there's a lot of other interesting things about this movie, a commentary on how Muslim women are treated, an ode to horror movies and westerns... but the depth of it and why it touched me was the characters who were all lost looking for love in the darkest of places. The film itself was visually stunning and the soundtrack great, I also loved how different it was, you would be hard pressed to find a movie similar - it has it's own heartbeat and uniqueness. Sure it starts slow, and is slow, you can't be in a hurry to get through this movie, but that is part of what makes it so wonderful because that tone makes you feel how the characters must feel lost and stuck in this "bad city." With the Farsi dialect and the interesting yet familiar iconic characters it is like walking into a different world that somehow you know. I loved the vampire, her acting was so subtle all done with her eyes, an animal that you couldn't trust yet wanted to. For those who say this is a pretentious film, I'll never understand, it's ARTSY, but it is not overly aware of itself or trying to be pompous, it's just telling this weird story with these weird characters with this very stylized feel and if you just open yourself to it and go with it and let it wash over you I think you will love it as much as I did.

Ohh, this movie. Easily one of my favorites in a long, long time."The Girl", as she is solely named (played by Sheila Vand), spends her time wandering the streets alone, listening to music in her tiny apartment, and, sometimes, killing people with her sharp fangs. She comes into contact with Arash (played by Arash Marandi), an independent and hard-working young man who has a desperately drug- addicted father at home, and they strike up this quiet intimacy that is mesmerizing to behold, though it becomes very complicated when she finds herself entangled with his father in a very different way.Honestly, that is a bulk of the plot. The complexity of this movie lies deep below the surface, and it is striking in so many ways. Despite being shot in Taft, California, the Farsi-speaking cast and fictional idea of this Iranian "Bad City" makes you feel as though you're a million miles away. As far as a genre goes, it is the quirky vampire- western I never knew I needed in my life. It weaves together this incredible combination of horror, loneliness, eroticism, desperation, isolation, humor, romance, and feminism and on top of that it is both gorgeously shot and scored. There's some laugh out loud moments — like when Arash is still under the influence of ecstasy in his Dracula costume and mesmerized by a lamppost as he is sized up by a living, breathing vampire — and one of the most truly scary moments I've seen in a movie (when The Girl urges a curious child to "be a good boy").Ultimately, while technically a horror film, this movie doesn't rely on hardly any tired clichés or overdone effects — the word "vampire" is never even used. It is masterfully filmed, written, and composed, with scenes so good they could be poetry, especially considering this is Amirpour's directorial debut AND it was shot in just over 3 weeks' time. Images of The Girl coasting down the street on a skateboard with her chador flowing in her wake will be imprinted on my brain forever, and I'm pretty psyched about that.

A calm, alluring & subversive art-house endeavour from Ana Lily Amirpour in what's her feature film debut, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is as impressive as it is unconventional, as beautiful as it is brooding, and as hypnotic as it is haunting. Touted as "the first Iranian vampire western", it is a fascinating blend of horror, romance & western that's original, meditative & masterly composed.Set in an Iranian ghost-town that reeks of death & loneliness, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night tells the story of a lonesome vampire that wanders the desolate streets at night; stalking, killing or protecting whoever she deems fit. But things change when she comes across a guy who's just as lost as her and, in an effort to connect with each other, something beautiful is born between the two.Written & directed by Ana Lily Amirpour, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is crafted with stunning restraint & presents the up-n-coming filmmaker in absolute control of her craft. Lily Amirpour's direction exudes both patience & confidence as she spins her own take on the vampire folklore with this twisted fable of two lost souls without giving in to genre conventions, and isn't afraid to employ silence as a powerful & effective tool.For a debut feature, it is an incredibly sophisticated effort, and Lily Amirpour not only exhibits her firm grip on storytelling elements but all filmmaking aspects. The story takes place in Bad City, an Iranian town in the middle of nowhere, and the deserted locations, vacant streets & fraction of denizens add to its graveyard like aura while the resurfacing shots of drilling pumps perpetually sucking oil out of Earth serves as an interesting companion to its vampiric themes.The script is only concerned with the doings of two characters, Arash & The Girl, and the rest of the town's inhabitants are discerned by simple tags assigned to them. What's also admirable is that it is never in a hurry to switch to the next moment and actually embraces the silence & emptiness that permeates every frame, which in turn contributes to its somber tone & funereal gloominess. But there are also times when its extended takes bring the narrative to a standstill.Shot in crisp black-n-white, Cinematography brings an elusive quality to the whole picture with its static camera-work, skillful use of slow-mo technique & beautifully composed shots, and further intensifies its otherworldly setting. Another one of my favourite aspects is its mesmerising soundtrack, comprising of sensibly chosen tracks that are evocative and always in check with the emotional requirements of any given moment.Coming to the performances, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night features a committed cast in Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Mozhan Marnò, Marshall Manesh, Dominic Rains & Rome Shadanloo, and each one of them get sufficient time on screen. Vand's subtle expressions & unwavering gaze turns her silent showcase into the most impressive performance in the movie and she is brilliantly supported by the rest of the cast, each playing their part with utmost conviction.On an overall scale, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a somber effort that's elegiac in its approach, dreamlike in its presentation, and subdued in its addressing of topical themes. Crafted with care & intimacy, it promises an etherial, absorbing & aesthetically fulfilling experience to those willing to embrace its slow-burn narrative and marks a promising start to Ana Lily Amirpour's filmmaking career. Although its fangs aren't as deeply embedded as I would have liked, this thoughtful meditation on loneliness is still a delightful discovery that's worthy of a broader audience.