We Are the Night

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.

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.

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!

The vampires Louise (Nina Hoss), Charlotte (Jennifer Ulrich) and Nora (Anna Fischer) arrive in Berlin after attacking the passengers and crew of an airplane in a flight to Paris. The leader Louise has been looking for centuries for her missed love and Charlotte misses her daughter that she saw in 1923 for the last time. Meanwhile, the smalltime pickpocket Lena (Karoline Herfurth) steals a Russian mobster and is chased by Detective Tom (Max Riemelt).

When Lena goes to a nightclub, the lesbian Louise believes that Lena is the love of her life and transforms her into a vampire. Lena initially feels lost with the transformation, but sooner she joins the trio of vampires in their nightlife. When the pack of vampires attacks a group of criminals, the police department investigates the case and hunts the women without knowing the risks that they are taking. Meanwhile the lonely Tom and the Lena fall in love with each other; but the unrequited love of Lena for Louise jeopardizes the couple.

"Wir Sind die Nacht" is a pleasant vampire movie, with action, humor, drama and romance. The beginning is a sort of tribute to Nosferatu and Dracula of Bram Stoker, with the female vampires killing the passengers and crew of an airplane the same way Nosferatu and Dracula do with the crew of the ship that arrives at Wismar without any living soul.

The plot is very well constructed and actually dramatic and mature, on the contrary of most of the American films of the genre. The actresses are very beautiful and talented; the cinematography and the camera work are magnificent and in the end, I loved this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Donas da Noite" ("The Owners of the Night")

Note: On 26 January 2015, I saw this movie again on Blu-Ray.

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!