Sunday, May 25, 2014

Film: Romantic Hipster Vampires

Only Lovers Left Alive

Romantic hipster vampires hit the scene in Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive.  The Goth gore genre has a new twist; these vampires are underground artist types.

The movie has the Jarmusch touch: the main characters are way cool. The blood addicts are scholarly with life experiences from literary highlights through the centuries. Eve is a speed reader of books from many languages. She lives in the amorous city of Tangiers and hangs out with another old soul who wrote with William Shakespeare. Adam is a  recluse musician who shuns fame. His remote Detroit house is filled with exceptional vintage guitars, records, and electronics. When the two reunite, we see the beautiful desolate streets of Detroit as they cruise in Adam's vintage car.

The movie is more about aesthetics than plot (where do they get their money? How does she get from Tangiers to Detroit overnight?).  The unhurried story is about art and beauty with an undercurrent mention of unappreciative mindless "zombies" of our present culture.  The vampires in Only Lovers are similar to the exquisite  ruin porn of the Michigan Theater and the shells of the great auto plants.  Eve and Adam are enduring and wistful.


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