Tags:
Film: Nadja
Year: 1994
Director: Michael Almereyda
Writer: Michael Almereyda
Starring: Elina Löwensohn, Peter Fonda and Nic Ratner
Review:
This film begins with a woman speaking with someone. She is played by Elina Löwensohn and the man she is speaking with is Nic Ratner. She is telling him about the places she has been to and about her family. We then see her biting his neck and drinking his blood. She is a vampire. She is the title character and is the daughter of Dracula. She is accompanied by Karl Geary, who plays Renfield, her slave. She learns that her father is dead.
We then see Martin Donovan. He is boxing when his wife enters the gym; she is played by Galaxy Craze. She informs him that his uncle has been arrested for murder. They leave together.
Löwensohn and Geary then go to the morgue to retrieve the body of Dracula. She uses her ability to charm the man at the desk, played by David Lynch, to take the body with her.
We then meet Donovan’s uncle, played by Peter Fonda. He is actually Dr. Van Helsing. They go to a diner and he explains what happened. Apparently he didn’t kill the man, but he was already dead with a stake in his heart. When he finishes eating they decide to get a drink together.
Löwensohn then meets Craze at a bar. Craze is lonely and interested in Löwensohn when they meet. They go back to Craze and Donovan’s place. Löwensohn is interested in the tarantula that is Craze’s pet. She also tells about where she is from as well to Craze. They end up making love.
Fonda also knows the truth about Dracula. It appears that he had two children from a peasant girl in Transylvania, they were twins. Fonda also lets Donovan know that his father never forgive him for loving Donovan’s mother and we learn that Fonda is actually his father. They had an affair.
Löwensohn then goes to find her brother who is living in Brooklyn. He despises her. Löwensohn and Geary go to his apartment and find, Edgar played by Jared Harris, is extremely ill and unable to move. He is being taken care of by a nurse that he met in South Dakota, played by Suzy Amis. Löwensohn knows that Amis has deeper feelings for her brother, but she has not admitted it to him. Löwensohn also decides that it would be best for Harris to be moved to her father’s apartment, they have medicine there that will save him.
Fonda and Donovan go back to his place to find that it is trashed. Fonda kills Craze’s spider, thinking that it was left there by the dark forces he is after. Craze was being rude to Donovan that morning. He thinks it is because she is on her period, but he doesn’t realize that she is in love with Löwensohn and not thinking clearly.
Harris is nursed back to health and Amis flees. Löwensohn chases after her. She kidnaps her and Harris uses his psychic connection to know that she is returning to Transylvania and Castle Dracula. She is hurt and is in need of blood as well as the soil of her birth.
Can Donovan, Fonda, Harris and Craze get Amis back? Can Löwensohn be defeated? Can Craze and Amis be freed from their curse?
I have to say that this is an interesting film. This is a post-modern vampire film that mostly takes place in New York City. It is interesting because Dracula was originally written with a vampire that is living in rural Transylvania and then going to London. The London from the novel is not bustling metropolis, yet it is still busy. The question is asked to Löwensohn about if she likes New York City despite how hectic it is. I actually think it is similar to the rural Transylvania despite being an opposite. Where in the rural setting, vampires could get away with things without a witness, where people can turn up missing in a city without a trace as well. There are a lot of solid actors and actresses in this film. The story is good, in that there is a dysfunctional family of vampires that have different agendas. Most of the vampire lore is used and there are even characters from the novel that are being used in this film.
I will say that this is an art film, so it is a tad boring. Not to the point where I didn’t like it, but there is a lot of talking, different cuts and editing to help make a visually good looking film. I would say that it is going more of the psychological aspects of the vampire, which I do still enjoy. I also understand that Harris despises his sister, but would a vampire still help in the destruction of his own race?
If you want to see a different type of vampire film, then I would recommend this. You have your characters from the novel that make an appearance. The acting is good, the story is solid and it does make for a solid film. This film is a little bit boring, as being an art film it goes with filming in black and white, editing and effects. Definitely is worth a view if this sounds good, if you can’t get past some of things aspects I would avoid it.
My Rating: 7 out of 10