March 18, 2015
Page 11
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
Iranian-American film director Ana Lily Amirpour’s ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.’
O pinionated
J udge
Surrender to
a mood of
appreciation
J udge
D arleen O rtega
by
Vampires are endlessly fascinating,
and endlessly versatile. Something
about the idea of a class of immortal be-
ings, lurking in the shadows and choos-
ing victims among the living because
they must, persists in our collective
imagination, fascinating terrain for ex-
ploring our own shadow regions. Some
of what we find there is just silly--like
the lessons of the so-called “Twilight
A Vampire
to Capture You
Saga” (the best lover will leave you
bruised but grateful, and even a very
protective 105-year-old cannot be ex-
pected to have thought through the con-
sequences of an unplanned pregnancy).
Two more worthy examples of the
genre are “What We Do in the Shad-
ows” (now in theaters), a mockumen-
tary about three squabbling vampires
sharing a bachelor flat in Wellington,
New Zealand, which spoofs the genre
to hilarious effect, and “Let the Right
One In,” which used its vampire story
to probe ideas about bullying and out-
siders.
The first feature film of Irani-
an-American director Ana Lily Amir-
pour, “A Girl Walks Home Alone at
Night,” is arguably the most original
C ontinued on P age 14