Only Lovers Left Alive

This film is not for everyone. Jim Jarmusch has a particular style that I admit would not appeal to me if it weren't for a couple of factors. First, I love Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton. And, I love vampire stories. OLLA is a slow film, with few characters and little action, about a centuries long love affair. Adam and Eve are vampires; she much older than he. And though they spend time, even years, apart they are still connected and in love. When Adam sinks into depression over what the zombies (humans) have done to the world, Eve comes to him to help him persevere. The vampire aspect of the film is subtle. The need for blood and avoiding the sun are the most blatant tropes, but they aren't thrown in your face. And Jarmusch has added his own touches, like the gloves and susceptibility to tainted blood. There is no obvious plot. What is at the forefront of the film is the romance. What would it be like to live "forever" and how would a marriage sustain across so much time? Hiddleston and Swinton are perfectly cast. She is ethereal here and I think she carries the film. He is a perfect contrast to her light and optimism and his dour character provides most of the film's humor. Yes, the film has humor and can be very funny. The other actors, particularly John Hurt, are a great supporting cast but the film is really about Adam and Eve. Overall, if you have the patience, or are fan of art-house type film-making, then OLLA is well worth seeing. And vampire fans should definitely see this unique but still familiar take on bloodsuckers. Highly recommended. A note about the bluray: there are some nice extras on here, which is getting rare for films that weren't blockbusters. The deleted and extended scenes are excellent (and at least a couple should have stayed in the film, IMO) plus there's three interviews with the cast, a short featurette and trailers.

This film reflects a moodiness and a coolness that felt like a dream. There isn't much of a plot, it is more of a character study really, and while many might think "boring," I was amazed at how the film never seemed to drag. It was like staring at a painting that never stopped opening itself to you or reading a poem where meaning was found in the simplest of words or listening to music…. Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) have been alive so long, they've seen so much, they have a world-weariness that was rather fascinating to watch. (Obviously the casting here mattered.) There isn't a moment or shot that I wasn't looking at something -- whether it was Adam's crowded dilapidated music haven Detroit mansion, complete with torn wallpaper, old vinyl records, a cordless phone from the 1990s, and a TV from the 60s (not to mention the many old classic guitars), Tilda Swinton's elegant and simple clothing, her vast array of books, and her slow walk on the old stone streets of Tangiers where we first find her. Later, as these two drive down the streets of Detroit at night in a classic Jacquar, the camera pans a Detroit that is a ghost town of broken dreams. Looking at the vacant houses and streets, Eve mentions that Detroit will rise again one day as the southern cities burn. In cinematic terms, what is probably the most impressive part of this film was how Jim Jarmusch (the director) made these dilapidated streets of Detroit strangely beautiful. The kind of beauty that makes you want to cry. The film reflects on art and addiction: music and literature in particular and, of course, the need for blood. Art and addiction have often gone hand in hand -- that insatiable need for pleasure and not being able to stop when we get our fill (something bad does happen here with Eve's sister but I will not say). Tilda and Tom are so incredibly perfect together. You would swear they've known each other for centuries. They are the very definition of cool in a 50s beatnik cool kind of way with their Ray-bans, their leather jackets and gloves (to protect their hands which apparently are very sensitive), and their really strange hair (that somehow works). This film is funny with droll comments from a very tired and rather annoyed Adam. To him, the world is full of "zombies" as Adam calls humans, believing they are philistines who abhor scientists; he also calls LA "zombie central" and believes fame is a bad thing. There is a Christopher Marlowe who is really Shakespeare, a conversation about how Byron was a bit of a jerk, and a wall of pics that included people like Twain, Poe, and Rodney Dangerfield. (Yes, Terri, you were right, Rodney was there.) Adam and Eve (this was inspired by writings of Mark Twain, btw) are yin and yang -- light and dark. One sees hope and love, the other decay and foolishness. But, ultimately, they are survivors…

One of the absolute BEST vampire movies I've ever seen. What makes a vampire movie for me is that while I'm watching it, I can completely "believe" in them. World building is a MUST. I don't want any campy. Every detail is important from story to acting -- Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, and Anton Yelchin were brilliant -- to atmosphere to cinematography to editing and of course directing (and Jim Jarmusch did an amazing job!). I love this movie and will watch it many many times!

New in plastic, works great, great movie, fast shipping!

Enjoyable

Excelente filme. Conforme descrito.

Un capolavoro che riporta la figura del vampiro allo splendore dei grandi romanzi gotici dell’Ottocento. Le atmosfere solitarie, oscure e decadenti di Tangeri e soprattutto di Detroit fanno da sfondo alle vicende di Adam e Eve, i due protagonisti. Adam e Eve sono vampiri, creature millenarie che vivono in una loro dimensione fatta di musica, arte e letteratura oltre che del profondo sentimento che li lega. Adam è un musicista di talento, profondamente depresso, fragile e annoiato della sua immortalità. Eve, invece, è una donna vivace e di mentalità aperta, orgogliosa del suo status di vampiro. Nonostante queste differenze, la coppia vive da secoli la sua storia ed è disturbata solo dall'arrivo improvviso di Ava, la selvaggio sorella minore di Eve. Il caos scatenato dal comportamento irresponsabile di Ava costringe Adam e Eve ad una pericolosa fuga e a fa riemergere la loro natura animalesca. Il film, che ha non ha molta azione, è un viaggio notturno nei pensieri e nei sentimenti dei protagonisti. Al loro peregrinare è abbinata una magnifica colonna sonora che unisce grandi classici del rock degli anni ’50 e ’60 e brani realizzati espressamente per il film. Ottimi gli attori, che hanno reso veramente credibili Adam e Eve in tutte le loro manifestazioni. L’edizione in blu-ray per il mercato inglese contiene numerosi extra in più rispetto a quella italiana, come scene eliminate ed estese ed un lungo documentario 'dietro le quinte'. Vi sono poi le interviste con gli attori e i trailer, presenti pure nell'edizione italiana. Un capolavoro per chi ama le ambientazioni gotiche e il cinema di Jarmusch.

I know, I know... There is a lot of vampire thingy going down since the last 20 years. But this one deserves its five stars. Maybe even more because it has to sail in a world that has forgotten the Gothic romance that goes from immortality. (And who could blame them with all the mainstreaming that has followed it?) This is way more Anne Rice than Twilight, let me assure you. And frankly, it achieve the thing most important to any movie about immortals, they do feel OLD. It's in the details, in the rhythm, its everywhere. When a couple know so much about each other that they can live on either side of the world and still feel close; when 10 years after doesn't need a hello but is just the continuation of an old conversation between lovers... Indeed, when "Only Lovers Left Alive". These are not blissfully young forever empty shells... These are rich and complex people that are tired to be experts at everything, but still manage to find beauty in the arts and each other. And that's something this movie does not lack either. From the haunting soundtrack to the blissfully colourful and richly detailed nightscapes, this little gem is just hypnotic enough that you might finally get to feel the vampire's seduction. The security of an old friend, and familiarity of a known touch in a world reborn too many times. (I'm speaking from experience here, my wife didn't wanted to get near anything vampire related but she still got entrapped, sat, and enjoyed the experience.) Thank you movie, for making vampires believable again.

Film génialissime. Évidemment, qui ne conviendra pas forcément à tout le monde, il faut connaître et aimer le style de Jim Jarmusch. Lenteur, romantisme à fleur de peau, désespérance, cynisme, amour éternel, sentiment de ne pas être à sa place, pas un film classique pour la ménagère habituée aux blockbusters des grandes chaînes hertziennes... Mais moi je suis conquise ! Film fascinant et addictif, servit, en plus, par une musique magnifique qui semble aussi importante à l'histoire que la mise en scène ou le scénario. Top ! (En plus qualité de livraison +++ que demander de plus?)

21世紀を生きるふたりの吸血鬼の話。 深夜のドライブや廃墟の探訪がめっちゃ好み。 イヴが日本円を所持し, 読書家の彼女が悠久の時を経て, 吟味に吟味を重ねた愛読書に白石一郎の「海狼伝」が含まれていて嬉しい。 昔の様に深夜の散歩に出掛けたくなる不思議な作風。