A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and is also streaming on Netflix.
A Farsi-language feminist vampire western new wave black and white noir probably sounds like a movie that is trying too hard. Fascinating, then, that first time feature filmmaker and writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour makes A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night feel effortless and almost even inevitable. Not to mention as cool as anything has been since Pulp Fiction hit.
Bad City appears to be populated by only about a dozen actual people, if you don’t count the ones casually strewn in a mass open grave by the side of the highway which is not particularly regarded by those who walk past it. This heightened or fantastical version of modern, urban Iran is inhabited by nothing but junkies, dealers, pimps, street urchins, and a nice boy named Arash (Arash Marandi). And then there’s The Girl (Sheila Vand). Arash’s father is a junkie with a tragic past. Arash is just a cool cat trying to get by, taking care of his dad and spending everything he’s got on his vintage Thunderbird.
The Girl is a vampire. One of the most interesting vampires seen on screen in decades. She longingly listens to new wave music, rides a skateboard (letting her chador flutter behind her like a superhero’s cape), and keeps a constant vigil on the denizens of Bad City. At times she seems to have a kind of code regarding who she preys on, revealing her monstrous nature to a little boy, but seemingly only to scare him straight. Or taking something akin to pleasure by taking the life of a violent and hilariously douchey pimp. There’s a cool exterior to The Girl, and the film will not allow viewers into her head in order to get a neat and tidy sense of who she is or what her motivations are. When we meet her, she’s listening to New Wave music alone in her basement apartment, putting on makeup without a mirror (presumably because mirrors are no help to vampires). She’s a vigilant creature, meting out justice as she sees fit, doing what she needs to do to survive in a virtual wasteland. Without any overt political or societal commentary to speak of, she is a girl who is taking the power back. Judging who lives and dies right under the nose of a society that would reject her if it wasn’t such a crumbling facade itself. On top of all that… why NOT have her ride a skateboard?
It is a little bit of a cheat to leverage information about the film gleaned from the bonus features on the Blu-ray (not to mention the frankly awesome comic book that accompanies the release) in order to review the film itself. But, it is interesting to note that Amirpour has fleshed out a very complete backstory of The Girl, going back 180 years or so. This information is vital to build the case for why this film contains that elusive “cool” factor when so many other films strive for it only to embarrass themselves. Amirpour has a clear and palpable love for her characters and this world which she has built. In an admittedly smorgasbord approach, she throws in a lot of her own personal loves, interests, and autobiographical elements… something which can sometimes yield an authentic story, but can just as often lead to a narcissistic picture. Fortunately The Girl, Bad City, and all the elements of A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night feel like their own inspired tale and not merely a jumble of disparate concepts that end up half baked.
Even more dangerous when trying to walk the razor edge of coolness versus cliche is to take your Farsi-language feminist vampire western new wave black and white noir and make it into a love story. What could possibly go wrong?
Amirpour does walk that razor’s edge, deftly, and delivers one of the most entrancing films of this year, not to mention one of the most exciting debut features in ages. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is an experience. Stunning black and white cinematography from Lyle Vincent projects a confidence and intentionality to the shot composition and pacing which puts the viewer in a romantic and patient mood, ready for this bizarre tale to come to fruition. The soundscapes and musical selections also entrance and heighten the connections between the characters. The Girl, being some 180 years old, seems to have come full circle back to her late teenage years, finding an exciting-to-your-core feeling for a boy and letting all the shit of the world around them wash away and once again allowing JUST the right music cue or mix tape be the secret to true love… a sentiment most of us abandon after high school but which, explored here, could offer a deeper spiritual connection than we have been willing to admit.
Amirpour takes a 180 year old vampire and a boy in a t-shirt and jeans with a really cool car and makes us feel like kids again, casting aside the cares of the dead and dying world around us and giving us permission to drive off into the night with the one we love and the perfect song accompanying it all.
The Package
Interestingly, this is the first time I’ve ever reviewed a Blu-ray release for a film that is readily available on Netflix streaming. At least a film as newly available as this one. So it occurs to me that, while I recommend this film wholeheartedly and consider it an easy contender for my favorite discovery of 2015, I’ll still need to build a case for why the Blu-ray is so special and worth picking up. After all, 90% of those reading this can simply press play on the film right now, in HD, on a streaming service they already pay for.
But here’s the thing: Kino Lorber actually went out of their way to create a spectacular package for this singular film, and while I most definitely recommend seeing the film at your earliest possible convenience, I’ll also suggest that anyone really enchanted by A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night do seek out the Blu-ray, as it is a release I’m thrilled to own.
The movie looks absolutely fantastic. Black and white cinematography and patient, rich shot composition are a highlight of the film and the transfer here is spectacular. The packaging is also cool as hell, featuring a cardboard-style slip box with comic book art highlights, a stark red, black and white key art design, and a comic book which (unlike most soulless branding tie-in comics) actually serves to expand on The Girl’s story and enrich the mythology of the film. And that is just the film and its packaging.
There’s also a rich array of bonus features, which obviously made an impact on me as I couldn’t help but sneak some of the information I gleaned from them into my review. Amirpour and Vand come off as California girl artist-types who you’ll never be as cool as, but who will never look down on you for that. Their Iranian heritage is intrinsic to who they are, but they also just wanted to make an awesome movie. And they’ve succeeded with brilliance. I’m so taken with this film that I will be telling anyone who will listen to check it out. My greatest hope is that Amirpour will be able to continue walking that razor’s edge and imbuing her films with longing, feminism, and a punk rock attitude while never straying into cliche or self-parody the way someone like Robert Rodriguez has. With her second film, The Bad Batch (about cannibalism) in production now, we’ll soon get a chance to see if Amirpour can duplicate the genius of A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.
Bonus Features
Behind-the-Scenes Footage Collectible Graphic Novels with essay by Eric Kohn Deleted Scenes Q&A Hosted by Roger Corman at the Hammer Museum, part of MoMAs Contenders Series Stills Gallery Trailer VICE Behind-the-Scenes Documentary VICE Meets Ana Lily Amirpour and Sheila Vand
And I’m Out.