As Donas da Noite

Before I begin I will have address the fact that this film has been compared to Twilight a lot in reviews. This is film has very little to do with Twilight. Just because a vampire film has teenagers and vampires in it does not make it a Twilight rip. There where romantic teen- vampire flicks before Twilight( The Lost Boys, Near Dark). It's not an invention of Twilight.

The plot revolves around three decadent and wealthy vampire girls. They move around in Berlin at night in search for blood and pleasure. Their leader Louise(Nina Hoss), is also looking for that special lady, the one you want to spend your entire life together with. This special lady turns about to be dysfunctional youth criminal Lena(Karoline Herfurth).

Louise turns Lena into a vampire and introduces her to the life as a vampire, a life Lena enjoys at first until she has to deal with the disturbing side effects.

First I want to bring up the good things about this movie. The atmosphere is great and the cinematography in simple gorgeous. It's a real treat for the eye and we get lots of very slick and beautiful visuals. The most beautiful scene is Lena's transformation into a vampire when her inner beauty is set free.

Another thing this movie does well is the portrait of vampire life. It often happens in modern vampire films that you get to much of the good side of vice versa, but in best Interview with the Vampire style we get a balanced portrayal. Sure, immortality is great, you can party all night and never grow old and die but all the people you love will grow old and die while you stay the same. If you find a mortal that you really love you can't be with him because of risk you might kill him in the heat of the moment. This is portrayed very well through vampires Charlotte( the very talented Jenny Ulrich) and Nora( the lovely Anna Fischer) who are most well written and well acted characters in the film. Both of them have very heartbreaking scenes in the second half of the movie but I won't tell you more than that.

Other than that, the special effects are done well and the music is great. The soundtrack is filled with great songs that not only add to the atmosphere but works as a Greek chorus, commenting on the plot and the feelings of the characters.

Gansel's directing is outstanding. Following the "show, don't tell" principle he allows his actors to often do the most emotional scenes without dialog. Instead, the looks on the actors faces tells the emotional turmoil behind them. The effect is wonderful. One strange result however is that the word "vampire" is never mentioned. The movie is so good at making us understand that is does not have to.

The negative parts on the other hand is the romance between Lena and Officer Tom(Max Riemelt) I could buy that these people care for one another cause the film builds it up to that in a fine way, but that they fall in love? No, I don't buy that. It douse not feel like there is any hint at romance. As I said, it's oblivious they could and should care for each other but a romance seemed to be forced in by the producers. The relationship between Lena and Tom is to undeveloped for that.

Also, without spoiling anything, the ending was a bit rushed and could have lasted a little longer. It comes off as much weaker than the rest of the film. But it does not destroy the rest of the film.

There is not much violence. Most of it is off-screen deaths and dead, bloody bodies. There is a not graphic bite, but there is also one very graphic scene where Charlotte takes paper cut to a new level. That will sure to satisfy the gore hounds and is the best death in a vampire-movie since the lawn gnome-scene in Frostbitten.

Wir sind die Nacht does not really add anything to the vampire mythology, but has it's fair place within it. The vampires are beautiful, but deadly as it should be. Don't ask for originality( the only one you get is the fact that the girl vampires of the world have killed off all the vampire men), but expect a nice and great looking thrill ride. Wir sind die Nacht also has a great re-watch value which is always a huge plus.

The cinematography reflects the damaged characters. Just as they may appear glamorous they are really hurt inside.Torsten Breuer films the night scenes in vivid and spectacular color while the day scenes are shoot in a way that makes the light of the sun seem cold and the city of Berlin look dirty and not glamorous at all. When brought into light, we see what how tragic these characters are. There are no villains, just damaged people who needs love, but that is denied from them.

In 1979, Werner Herzog showed that Germany knew their vampires, and in 2010 Dennis Gansel shows they still does.

Vampire films are ten a penny these days. But it's not all the same old crap over and over again. With vampire films, I think you just need to find the right balance between emotional moments that humanise these monsters, and those awesome cool moments. We Are The Night does pretty well in both departments, even if it is in favour of action. The first scene had me absolutely hooked. The camera pans around an airplane where all the passengers and crew have been killed. Still alive are three attractive women that soon reveal themselves to be vampires. After a bit of fun, they open the airplane door and dive out mid-air. From there we are introduced to Lena, a young criminal that soon finds herself involved with the vampires. Unfortunately for them, just before Lena is turned, she catches the eye of a young policeman that's interested in her. Like all vampire films, it starts by showing the luxurious excess. Clubbing, drinking, sex etc. But at the same time the film uses the character of Charlotte as an antidote to all this. She obviously suffers from depression. As the gang go out shopping, she stares longingly at some baby shoes. She also stands in the sunlight causing herself great pain. This character encompasses the strongest emotions, and counteracts the action nicely. We also have Louise. A lesbian vampire that is in love with Lena and feels jealous about Lena's crush on the young cop Tom. It shows that no longer how long you live for, certain human emotions are unavoidable. Towards the end it goes for all out action. With SWAT teams, prison breaks, and a beautifully shot fight that has the vampires moving all over the walls. The music was also enjoyable, but the amount of nightclub scenes did get tiring. Just one less could have made an improvement. We Are The Night is a string Vampire film, with stunning locals and excellent pacing. It was great seeing these girls have fun in a woman only vampire world. Another great example of Gansel's talent.

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!

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

I do wonder why people waste the talent and money on shallow movies like this one? And why they also make the topics even shallower?

If this was an anime (does anyone think the movie was truly inuenced by some anime or manga), it would be an ok piece, but as a movie... Nah!