BYZANTIUM

The stripper Clara lures clients to discreetly feed on their blood. Eleanor is Clara's teenage daughter, who has no qualms about how she eliminates her prey. Both are vampires and have been wandering the world for at least two hundred years. After killing a man, the two women move to a new city and meet Noel, a shy man who falls for Clara and offers her his hotel, the Byzantium, to turn it into a brothel. Meanwhile, Eleanor meets Frank, a boy with hemophilia, with whom she becomes very close friends. But two mysterious individuals have also arrived in the city who seem to be tracking the two vampires. Among the public of horror cinema, Neil Jordan is best known for "Interview with the Vampire," even though among the first films that the director of "The Crying Game" has directed was also an adult version of Little Red Riding Hood, "The Company of Wolves," and at the end of the 1990s he had resumed the genre with the supernatural thriller "In Dreams." But for his return to horror, Jordan takes his cue from his most famous horror and even "Byzantium," like the adaptation of Anne Rice's novel, brings to the stage a family of vampires traveling through the centuries. Thematic affinities aside, we are still far from the majestic and luxurious work with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt; first of all, "Byzantium" is, on the contrary, an all-female story and then the budget is visibly more contained. But the charm is there and with this last work, Jordan seems to have returned to that magnificent dark narrator he had definitely lost in recent times. What strikes about "Byzantium" is the way the work is told, an epic spanning nearly two hundred years that uses two timelines to tell us about the changes in era and situation that the two protagonists have faced. On one hand, we have nineteenth-century Britain, made up of gray beaches and stormy seas, which saw the birth of Clara as a vampire and her progeny, Eleanor, a stain for which the vampire will pay the price for centuries to come, since she will be persecuted by her peers as a woman cannot deliberately generate another vampire. On the other hand, we have the present, depicted for its erotic dimension made of strip clubs, brothels, and decadent apartments frequented by prostitutes and clients. A world not very reassuring within which, however, Clara knows how to move well and Eleanor follows her with ease even if in visible solitude. It is interesting to note how Jordan, based on the play "A Vampire Story" by Moira Buffini, who also wrote the screenplay, explores sexism within the vampire race, an unusual and unprecedented topic that tells us how female vampires are subject to males and subjected to strict rules that limit their power and action. Mythology, this, which contrasts with the sensual, authoritative, and dominant figure we have always had of the vampire. The beautiful cinematography of the film combines with the skillful search for locations that, especially in the finale, rely on very suggestive natural scenarios... and thanks to the intervention in post-production, which creates those disturbing blood cascades, we also have a beautiful image that will enter the viewer's imagination and will be remembered. Then not all that glitters is gold and we still find ourselves watching a film that is perhaps too long for what it really has to tell and the almost two hours of "Byzantium," at some point, manage to weigh, not surprising if some less patient viewer from time to time lets out a yawn. Particular credit goes to the two magnificent actresses, the beautiful Gemma Arterton, who here offers one of the best and most intense performances of her career, and Saoirse Ronan, who confirms, if still needed, her great acting talent. Worth watching. After a limited release in US cinemas in 2013, "Byzantium" was released in Italy only on home video, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc, distributed by Koch Media, despite having been initially announced for a theatrical release in our country as well. The Blu-ray of "Byzantium" is really excellent, one of the most prestigious products in Koch Media's recent release list. Excellent is the crisp video and of great quality the Italian audio track in DTS-HD. Really satisfying is also the extras department, which includes a substantial series of interviews with cast and crew, for a total of 76 minutes, the trailer, and a behind-the-scenes feature of about half an hour.