Vampire

> ***“if this were a dream, i would never die.”*** shunji iwai is my favorite director, but this movie has always been a blindspot for me, because it ranks pretty low on a lot of lists, and a lot of people consider it his worse film. but i ended up really falling in love with this movie. and even though she doesn’t have many scenes, i loved seeing yu aoi in this too! *vampire* is iwai’s only feature length film not shot in japan, and it felt like a mix of *picnic *and *hana & alice, *both by iwai, and *ritual* by hideaki anno. it sensitively explores the yearning for connection, from the disconnection of suicide, and queerness of being a “vampire”, grappling with their humanity as a biology teacher, who cares so much about life. all this is paired with a, piano-driven, iwai soundtrack, that reminds me so much of his drifting music in *hana & alice.*

What the fuck, no seriously what the fuck?

Such a fascinating movie. I don't really know how I sit with it just yet. Some cool stuff, some stuff that absolutely doesn't work for me. It feels scattered, it feels amateurish, but it also is surprisingly tender and gives you a lot to chew on. Shunji Iwai's bizarre English movie is worth checking out, but it's definitely a black sheep in his filmography. You can see so much of his influence and his tropes here, you just have to look a lot harder than most.

What the fuck, no seriously what the fuck?

> ***“if this were a dream, i would never die.”*** shunji iwai is my favorite director, but this movie has always been a blindspot for me, because it ranks pretty low on a lot of lists, and a lot of people consider it his worse film. but i ended up really falling in love with this movie. and even though she doesn’t have many scenes, i loved seeing yu aoi in this too! *vampire* is iwai’s only feature length film not shot in japan, and it felt like a mix of *picnic *and *hana & alice, *both by iwai, and *ritual* by hideaki anno. it sensitively explores the yearning for connection, from the disconnection of suicide, and queerness of being a “vampire”, grappling with their humanity as a biology teacher, who cares so much about life. all this is paired with a, piano-driven, iwai soundtrack, that reminds me so much of his drifting music in *hana & alice.*