A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

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🎙️ EPISODE 310: 02.07.2021 A girl walks home alone at night, does she? Well I hope nothing bad happens to her! Wait, hold up... what if this girl was a... wait for it... VAMPIRE! I'm goofing, y'all. Am I? The implications of this film's title feel heavier than they truly are. Instead of functioning as a parable or allegory on or about that sentiment, the movie offers a true subversion of the whole notion. And I appreciated that. I read a little too much about this film and couldn't help thinking about the stale, thematic headache of "Girl Gets Revenge on all the Bad Men" while I was watching it, but by the time she kills a homeless dude for no reason, I realized I'd been had. It's actually kind of a multifaceted masterstroke. To me, this film was about boredom as much as it was about gender norms. It's best accessed from a blank slate; try not to even think about the title until the movie's over. (Obviously, this is a moot point for anyone who's reading this, so... Sorry?)

It's a strong debut by filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour, though it's far from perfect. The first pimp/dealer/scuzzball character is way too goofy and doesn't jive with the tone of the film. The music cues/choices aren't right at all. The name of the setting is literally "Bad City" which is one notch too far on the ironically obvious scale.

But it's a lovely looking film, shot in stunning black and white in Persian despite being filmed in California. And though not a long movie, it takes its time; some wordless scenes have a meditative feel. Amirpour, born in England and raised in America, is Iranian, and that melting pot is evident here. The result is a strange, timeless film; to what degree it will register as authentic might vary, but its originality in my eyes is undebatable.

CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ EPISODE 309 - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 311 ⫸

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