Watching the Night

This afternoon, Amy and I went to see Night Watch, the dark urban fantasy imported from Russia. It obviously treads much of the same territory as the Blade and Underworld movies, albeit with less of the American sense of selfless heroism and more of a Russian sense of fatalism, not to mention the central concept that individual choices between light and dark (which is definitely not presented as a clear-cut decision) shape the bigger picture. It's one of the first movies I've seen to depict a modern, urban, post-USSR Moscow, mixing big-screen TVs (showing dubbed episodes of American shows) and cell phones with Soviet architecture and vehicles. It has also adopted American-style MTV editing and snappy music, which should make it particularly popular in American theatres. (The Nuart was packed, even though it was an early matinee.)

The American version includes some witty tricks with the subtitles, with titles smashing into walls and breaking apart, or turning into swirls of blood. It's an odd move, since usually translators don't want to call attention to the titles.

I fervently hope that no American studio decides to remake this, like that lame Bridget Fonda remake of La Femme Nikita.