Nadja

Micheal Almereyda (1994, USA)

Cast : Elina Lowensohn, Karl Geary, Peter Fonda, Martin Donovan, Suzy Amis, Jared Harris

Plot:
This ultra-hip, post-modern vampire tale is set in contemporary New York City. Members of a dysfunctional family of vampires are trying to come to terms with each other, in the wake of their father's death. Meanwhile, they are being hunted by Dr. Van Helsing and his hapless nephew.

Appreciation: 9/10
A quiet poetic and atmospheric tale that flows like a dream. Reminescent of Wim Wenders's "Wings of desire", the whole film is very interesting in it's ambiguity. For one, you're never too sure of what's going on, things are left unexplained, the images are blurry and superimposed, contributing to the eeriness. The dialogues are both profound and deeply human, while at the same time being (unintentionally?) funny and forced. The characters's behaviors and motives are never clear, and as for the dialogues, the acting is both highly realistic and forced. And the soundtrack makes it all that more absorbing.
It's a serious movie but at the same time it contains winks at many older works, from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Bela Lugosi, as well as most clichés you can find in a vampire-related story.
That being said, this kind of movie might not be for everyone. You have to be in a relaxed mood to enjoy it the most, and be able to get past the clichés and oddly funny elements to fully appreciate. Fortunately for me i saw it just after eating my bellyful and lying on a couch, so it was just perfect a setting for that kind of movie, and i caught myself absorbed totally..

Other suggestions: The Hunger, Wings of desire