Film Review: "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night"

I waited eleven months for this movie and I finally saw it over the weekend. The wait was worth it! I love it! I adore it! And I think it's a masterpiece!

"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" is a triumph of contemporary cinema. Every frame, every minute of the movie satisfy in all levels. There's comedy, drama, theater, thriller, horror, romance - even music, oh, how I love the score! The film is a mash-up of several genres that only someone who lives and breathes movies could have ever done. Think Quentin Tarantino but less gory and less revolting. Think Robert Rodriguez but with better storytelling. I am never a big fan of the horror genre but this movie made me reconsider that (for how long, i really can't tell because there are just so many bad ones squeezing every tricks that may have worked before thus rendering the entire genre an afterthought to me.)

But, no, this one is not. This assured film debut by Ana Lily Amirpour is hailed as the first Iranian Vampire Western ever made and the audience can sense that she had fun doing the movie. It is like listening to a film buff rattle off all the movies she loves, the film styles she wants to emulate, the directors and genres she fancy and how dear she holds her motherland in her heart. And she pulled this off without letting go of her grip on the core romance between her two protagonists that holds the entire movie together. Yes, there's a girl in this movie but there is also a guy. I will not dwell on this because I would want the reader to have the same joy I had in discovering this one aspect of the film that I tremendously enjoyed.

I always find myself rambling when I write about a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed and loved that I tend to forget a lot of things. I will not allow that for this film. I will start with the gorgeous black-and-white photography that lends the film an edgy atmosphere that makes the audience feel what it feels like to be alone, to be unseen. And the performances by the ensemble are glorious! Sheila Vand and Arash Marandi are just so perfect in their roles! Mozhan Marinó is terrific.

The film is not short on subtexts as well. Every movie is an allegory for something and if you are in a particular mood to brood about it, this movie offers a lot to think about. Some are obvious, some obscure but what is certain about this film is that it offers pure cinematic pleasure!

Rating: 5 Stars

A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT
Writer and Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Producers: Sina Sayyah, Justin Begnaud, Ana Lily Amirpour
Executive Producers: – Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller, Nick Moceri, Ben Conrad, Alexei Tylevich, Reza Sixo Safai, Daniel Grove, Patrick Grove
Cast – Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Mozhan Marinó, Dominic Rains, Milad Eghbali, Rome Shadanloo, Marshall Manesh
Website: http://films.vice.com/a-girl-walks-home/