Film for vampire lovers

intro = Nadja
Directed by Michael Almereyda
Opens January 18, 1996
Reviewed by Margaret Allan Nadja is a darkly poetic film that occasionally gives the impression of an extended atmospheric music video at various points during the beautiful musical score. The film is produced by David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart) which gives an indication of its style, with a combination of deadpan dialogue and stunningly gloomy imagery. Many themes run through Nadja from alienation in a big city to irreconcilable family differences. Blood is a strong theme throughout, not surprisingly, as Nadja is a modern day vampire film. Dark sexual encounters resulting in the creation of an increasing number of the undead, give grounding to the AIDS metaphor tag attached to this film by some, including the director, Michael Almereyda. Nadja (played by the Romanian actor Elina Lowensohn) is a gothic-like character who lives in New York, where she yearns for the simple life, yet finds herself indulging in the sort of behaviour one might expect from the daughter of a vampire. Her wealthy vampire father has just has a stake driven through his heart by Dr Van Helsing (Peter Fonda), now the doctor and his nephew Jim (Martin Donovan) are searching to destroy both Nadja and her twin brother Edgar (Jared Harris). Along the sometimes confusing journey from New York to Romanian Transylvania, we meet the other characters whose lives intertwine under the spell of the mysterious Nadja. Filmed in a moody combination of normal black and white film and the visually stunning pixelvision (using a toy camera designed for children), Nadja is a evocative and sensual movie, whose storyline almost becomes secondary to the treat that beholds the eyes and ears.

From GLW issue 215