Nous sommes la nuit

Germans tried to create their own Vampire franchise with "We are the Night" with mixed results. Compared with any of the TWILIGHT movies; this looks like a masterpiece; but with really great movies like NOSFERATU (in any of its version) this is just a clichéd movie with a few original ideas.

The most interesting things are dialogs which based on my very limited German and subtitles seemed really smart. Another is that even when vampires are only women and there is a lot of lesbian innuendo; the movie is far from exploitative. There is no feminine nudity, no sexual scenes and a very PC moral message (here, nobody is happy to be a vampire). Even violence in the movie is more suggested than shown (there are a few brief strong scenes ; but mostly for the surprise effect ) . Lena, a minor delinquent is converted by Lena; an old bored vampire looking for her great love. Louise has two other vampires girlfriends; all living like "Sex and the City" in Berlin. An excess of glamour and luxury just to cover their empty lives. Lena is not very happy with her unwanted changes; particularly because she has a certain interest in a policeman; something forbidden by Louise for two reasons; he does not want men and even less policemen. There is not much more happening. The first act is strong but after Lena conversion, the second act looks extracted from "SEX AND THE CITY". The drama could have been really interesting if we knew something about each woman; but aside from a few dialogs and little back story about one of them; the others are pretty much a mysteries nobody cares to solve. The third act is more action driven and it is very effective with just the necessary amount of special effects in order to get things realistic. In brief; it is not a bad movie; but considering it comes for the country that re-invented cinema and the vampire genre; it is below expectations.

Wir sind die Nacht - We are the Night – CATCH IT (B+) A German movie deals with deals with a young woman who gets bitten by a female vampire and drawn into her world. She falls in love with a young police officer who investigates a murder case involving the vampires. Wir sind die Nacht took its inspiration from Carmilla rather than Dacula which was a wise decision and it made the movie really interesting and enjoyable. Wir sind die Nacht has a top notch production value and performance by all the leading actresses. Initially it looked like Karoline Herfurth playing Lena took her inspiration from Lisbeth Slander but once she is bitten and becomes Vampire she transforms into this gorgeous young girl. The transition is so drastic that a person like me who have not seen her previously in any movie was completely stunned. Nino Hoss is powerful as the vampire leader and I saw her recently in "The Woman in Berlin" so it was shocking to see her in such urban movie. Jennifer Ulrich is gorgeous; she literally looked like someone stole her from 1920s. Anna Fischer as vamp party girl brought her spunk to her spunky character. Max Riemelt is the hottest German actor alive, darn he sizzles on screen. His chemistry with Karoline Herfurth made the small love story really interesting. We are the Night is one of the best Vampire movie I have seen in recent years, its urban, chic and filled with strong performances. I would love to see a sequel for sure as the ending was ambiguous.

As a film, it's a nice one. As a genre - a modern vampire - flick, it might easily deserve a full tenner. It's one of the most intelligent, mature (no pun intended on the ladies, who have had about 300 years to ripe), technically apt movies about the life of a vampire in the modern world. The story might be only so-so, but the solid actors, the production values, the direction and the overall classy look of the outcome more than compensates for the (very slight) shortcomings of the structure. Basically a lesbian love (or lust) story, it never gets sappy or lame, whether dealing with girl-on-girl or straight passion. It's quite different from American vamp flicks (True Blood bares similarities in the overall mood), especially those vamp flicks, which pretend to be European. Wie sind die Nacht is a solid piece of good entertainment without most of the clichés of a traditional 'I suck your blood' romp. It's a vampire film, which never once mentions the word 'vampire'. My only negative complaint would be the appearance of Charlotte (the utterly gorgeous Jennifer Ulrich): why do we always assume, that a vampire sort of gets stuck to the fashion of the era he/she was actually young in? Look at Tom Cruise in The Vampire Chronicles: the guy has been around for - what? 250 years? And he NEVER gets tired of ruffs, laces and buckled shoes? Never once ventures to try out jeans, fishnet shirts, disco boots, zoot suits --- no?! I mean come on! - a vampire, if anyone, should be willing to always change its appearance, for the sake of sheer boredom! Yet, Charlotte, who was made a vampire in 1923, never outgrows the Charleston dress, even though she is a remarkably pretty dish. Hard to believe. But hey, the ladies have killed off all the male vampires in the world, so they may very well wear what ever they desire. Enjoyable!

Female vampires are all that is left. Men typically screwed up and were eliminated. Naturally, when one wants a true love, she is going to be searching for the right female to join her for eternity.

This is really a slick production with good camera work, great music, and lots of action - lots of blood, too.

Karoline Herfurth gives a great performance as Lena, the pickpocket that is transformed. She has a hard time warming up to Louise (Nina Hoss), and keeps a tie to a cop (Max Riemelt) she met when she was a pickpocket. Twilight fans may find this story compelling, and would certainly like the ending, but it's for adults.

Loved it! Watch the original though (don't be afraid of subtitles, you'll get used to them!)

This was a fantastic bit of escapism. I thought the production value was on par with Iron Sky (2012) and there were some unique and memorable scenes like in the bathroom and then in the bath. There were beautiful sequences like the opening, the car chase and the fight scenes.

I was expecting something like Vamps (2012) with Alicia Silverstone which I really enjoyed, but this was definitely not played for laughs and was fairly gruesome in some parts.

Max Riemelt just became my new favourite male actor! Both he and Karoline Herfurth played their parts brilliantly and they had plenty of chemistry.

I would have liked to have seen more backstory for the vampires, perhaps some flashbacks of their former lives but this is a minor criticism.

If you're a fan of this genre, it's definitely one to watch! 8/10