Vampire Chic: A Dark Fate for Juliet in "With A Kiss I Die"

With A Kiss I Die
written and directed by Ronnie Khalil
starring Ella Kweku, Paige Emerson, George Kopsidas, Michael Angels, Ioannis Papazisis

A unique and new independent film is available for viewing this week. Called With A Kiss I Die, it uses Shakespeare's tragic tale of timeless love, "Romeo And Juliet," and turns it into an interracial lesbian vampire love story.

For real.

While that might seem really out there, the film has its own comments to make about what it means to be in love with another person, about whether each of us only has one great love in a lifetime, about how love is love, and about what sacrifices we're willing to make for that love.

With A Kiss I Die was written and directed by Ronnie Khalil, best known as an Arab-American stand-up comic in both the Middle East and the U.S. And as Juliet Capulet, the film stars a woman of color, stunning newcomer Ella Kweku, a former model and erstwhile musician born in The Canary Islands of Spain who calls Los Angeles home.

In Khalil's reimagining of the Shakespeare legend, Juliet is still alive after 800 years and is being transformed – against her will – into a vampire. Filmed in the gorgeous Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini, With A Kiss I Die shows a Juliet who no longer wishes to live as she continues to mourn the death of her Romeo. Despondent over being stolen from their tomb in Verona and revived as one of the living dead by a powerful Greek vampire named Father, Juliet is in transition from light to dark. She can experience daylight and a full range of emotions while subsisting on the blood of a willing human companion, but once she drinks the blood of a victim she kills herself she will become a true vampire who can only walk at night. Juliet feels trapped and hopeless as Father puts pressure on her to take this final step.

When Juliet meets a troubled American tourist (Paige Emerson) and they develop intense feelings for one another, a jealous Father threatens the girl's life. Juliet makes a final choice to free them both from Father’s wrath, a decision that echoes her tragic ending with Romeo centuries earlier.

With A Kiss I Die is just the latest in a long string of vampire film narratives that have broken loose from the original Dracula legend. The fascination with being immortal is a major part of this fantasy, as is the darkly romantic idea that while a vampire may kill and ingest the blood of many human victims, which is a macabre horror, he or she carefully chooses that special someone to initiate into the ranks of vampiredom and is then responsible for the initiate's life and wellbeing. It is a twisted love story, a ghoulish betrothal, an induction into a supernatural fraternity from which one can never escape.

Most of the Dracula remakes romanticize Dracula's obsession with Lucy and other potential "brides." That idea is why the 1979 reboot cast sexy thespian Frank Langella as Dracula, while Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992 made Gary Oldham a man of mystery whose alter ego was an ancient monster. Even in the little-seen Dracula 2000, Dracula is none other than Gerard Butler (they also try to make the case that Dracula is really Judas Iscariot, cursed for all time). Sexy vampires were also central to Quentin Tarantino's 1996 From Dusk Till Dawn, while Eddie Murphy took on the legend for1995's Vampire in Brooklyn. Wesley Snipes became a half-vampire avenger in the Blade series.

We also imagine that because they live through many ages they are prone to loneliness. This is dealt with at length in 1994's Interview With The Vampire, where 200-year-old vampire Louis (Brad Pitt) tries for centuries to find meaning and connection in his vampire life. Poor vampires, doomed to kill and wander the earth for an eternity. Love is the only redeeming quality left to them, even when it almost always ends in tragedy. Like the immortal creatures themselves, vampire narratives just won't die.

With A Kiss I Die is available on streaming platforms.

10 Reasons "Crazy Rich Asians" Is Winning Right Now

I haven't seen Crazy Rich Asians yet. I really want to. I just have to make time.*

I'm happy for its box office success. And without having seen it, I can make assumptions about why Crazy Rich Asians is winning right now (though, yeah, I know what they say about making assumptions). Most of its success undoubtedly has to do with how well the film develops its seemingly novel characters, incorporates accurate cultural details, and still adheres to the time-honored beats of long-established film genres.

Here are ten reasons I can think of:

1. Asian and other marginalized people in the U.S. want to see stories with Asian protagonists.
It took too long, Hollywood, to acknowledge the power of the Asian-American audience. This significant and broadly diverse population is too often overlooked, despite people of Asian descent having played a significant part in the economic development and history of this country. We've seen plenty of foreign films get acclaim here, but there are still precious few big-screen stories about the lives of modern-day Asian-Americans.

2. Asian people want to see an all-Asian cast. And because of the notoriety, we do too.
There are so many talented performers who have been overlooked, underutilized, and pushed into stereotypical roles. I love that Malaysian-born Michele Yeoh -- who kicked butt alongside Jackie Chan in Super Cop, alongside Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies, and beside Chow Yun-Fat in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- plays the rich matriarch. It is also great that so many other actors we haven't seen much of before get a showcase playing fully fleshed out characters. (And have you see this Henry Golding guy who plays the rich fiance? Yum!)

3. For the most part, we are intrigued by Asian culture.
Starting with Chinese, Japanese, and Thai cuisines, which are very popular judging by the number of restaurants, cooking shows, and frozen food options in this country, Americans also have a fondness for Asian art, artifacts, technology, and traditional and contemporary fashion design. (To the point where cultural appropriation has become problematic, but still.)

4. The family versus family culture-clash is a popular story.
We saw something similar when Brooklyn-bred Laz Alonzo and well-to-do Paula Patton tried to meld their class-differing families on Martha's Vineyard in 2011's Jumping The Broom. Warring or philosophically opposed families who must reconcile for intermarriage is a universal, relatable narrative going back to Romeo and Juliet.

5. The Prince Charming fairytale narrative is popular with women.
Everyone is fascinated by a Cinderella story, where a girl is swept up and not only emotionally but financially and sartorially transformed by the love of a rich prince. Let the makeovers begin!

6. The fish-out-of-water story is also a tried-and-true narrative.
She may be an Asian-American girl, but lead character Rachel (Constance Wu) is essentially American. Now she has to assimilate herself into two distinct cultures: That of the mother country and that of extreme wealth. Culture shock ensues.

7. We can't resist "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."
Everyone likes to see how the other half lives. Getting to see the details of how these crazy rich Asians are putting it down day to day is a big draw. (RIP, Robin Leach, who passed this past week.)

8. Who doesn't enjoy a travelogue?
Yay! This movie will take us on a tour of modern-day Singapore! See the sights, learn the customs, taste the cuisine with our eyes, hear the music. Because when will we ever get to actually go?

9. It's a comedy!
Who doesn't like to laugh? And it looks like co-stars Awkwafina and Ken Jeong deliver.

10. It's a love story.
And doesn't love conquer all?

From where I sit, watching the previews and trailers, Crazy Rich Asians looks like an old-fashioned rom-com with a slick glaze of contemporary sensibility. It looks like lot of fun, even if it appears as though some stereotypes may not have been completely abandoned. That's OK ... for now. I'm not mad at it.

*Amended 8/25/18. Saw it. It definitely checks all these boxes. I enjoyed it!