Only Lovers Left Alive is a 2013 internationally co-produced vampire film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. Set against the romantic desolation of Detroit and Tangier, an underground musician, deeply depressed by the direction of human activities, reunites with his resilient and enigmatic lover. Their love story has already endured several centuries at least, but their debauched idyll is soon disrupted by her wild and uncontrollable younger sister. It stars Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi and John Hurt. The film is one of several Jarmusch productions, with films such as Night on Earth, in which the action mainly occurs at night. Swinton stated after the film’s release: “Jim is pretty much nocturnal, so the nightscape is pretty much his palette. There’s something about things glowing in the darkness that feels to me really Jim Jarmusch. He’s a rock star”. A co-production of the United Kingdom and Germany, the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
