A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT

US, 2014, 99 minutes, Black and white.
Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Dominic Rains.
Directed by Anna Amirpour.

This is a very odd film, an independent film, and one that could have the potential for a cult following.

The film was made in the United States but the background of the director is Iranian and she has set her fantasy-drama in Iran although the settings look like downbeat American neighbourhoods.

The film was billed as the first Iranian vampire film. However, it takes some time, even in a shortish film, for the vampire to appear.

The central character is Arash, a young man who has an elderly father to look after at home, especially with the father being a drug addict. Arash also tangles with a friend who is a brutal man, a pimp, involved with drugs, especially violent in his casual relationships with women in the car and his ugly discarding of them. Once the vampire appears, he becomes an initial victim, frightening Arash.

The vampire herself seems an ordinary young woman, walking along the streets, encountering people who lead ugly lives and making a number of them victims, especially when they accost her. However, she makes friends with an older prostitute, going to her home, being looked after. At a club, she is seen by Arash and the two of them become acquaintances and even friends. Also in the scene is a young boy who initially begs money from Arash but becomes an observer of what is going on.

After the death of his father, he and the young woman find that they will have a future together. But what that future is is for the audience to anticipate rather than see.

Filmed in black and white, the film seems a throwback to the styles, especially of some Iranians films of the past, with their stark black-and-white photography, the setup of scenes, the dramatic interactions.

1. An Iranian filmmaker working in the United States? The cast? The language, Farsi?

2. The film’s awards, becoming something of a cult film?

3. The black and white photography, Bad City, allegedly Iran, looking more like the United States and Paul and dismal neighbourhoods? The musical score and atmosphere?

4. The iconic style of the film, the iconic characters, the female vampire, the pimp, the old prostitute, the old addict, the neighbourhood boy?

5. The title, the focus?

6. The vampire, Arash and his waiting, the effects, going inside, retrieving the cat? The boy asking for money, his refusal? His friend, indebtedness, the pimp taking the car, the clash? The pimp’s death and its effect on Arash? His father, his age, dependence on drugs, Arash and his exasperation? Going out, the dancing, seeing the vampire, helping? His reaction to his father? The cave, with the vampire, hiding, saving her?

7. The vampire, her attacks, seeming innocent, dressed in the Iranian fashion, black, well-covered, the death of the pimp, ordinary people, the innocent? The prostitute and her conversations? The jewellery? The prostitute’s advice?

8. The pimp, loud, with Arash, the car, with the girls, the brutal sex scenes, his despising of the girl, getting out of the car, the, the viciousness of his death?

9. The prostitute, 30, her life, the escape, the kindness to the vampire girl?

10. The father, his age, drugs, injecting the needle, sitting idle at home, a burden on his son, his reaction’s to his son?

11. The boy, in the neighbourhood, wanting money, observing the characters and what was going on?

12. The real and surreal, the glimpse of an alternative life and style?