Brivido di sangue

The Wisdom if Crocodiles is a very well made, character driven vampire film, that does away with many of the clichés associated with vampire films for the better.

The film centres around it's central character, Steven Grlscz, his relationship with women, and the police, who eventually suspect him of murder.

Steven doesn't have fangs, (which incidentally, were first brought into the vampire myths by the Hammer films.) doesn't burn up in the sunlight, (or even worse, go around wearing sunglasses and black in the day.) he is not a poseur, he is a real vampire. He needs to drink blood to live, for reasons that are revealed gently throughout the film.

The films success lies in it's shedding of these usual clichés, to make something that is less a part of a fantasy world, a more grounded in reality. This is fully represented through the whole of the films strata, for example when a fight breaks out involving local thugs, we are not treated to a slow-motion fest set to some industrial metal or matrix-like techno, but a realistic scrap, with a weird white noise sound crossed with choral singing musical accompaniment.

The film is also successful in some small touches that make it worth re-watching. Some little things that seem normal on a first viewing, that take up perhaps a second, are seen in a different way on repeat viewings. I find this quite a admirable addition to the films quality.

To sum up, The Wisdom of Crocodiles is an inventive, intelligent vampire film, without the clichés, grounded in reality and definitely worth watching.

The Wisdom of Crocodiles is one of a new breed of vampire movies. Probably started by Abel Ferrera's "The Addiction", vampirism has turned into a sort of curse that turns it's afflicted into brooding philosophers. Gone are the vampire bats, wooden stakes and crucifixes that once were the staples of the genre, and the vampire genre has been changed into a commentary on disease. However, I'm all for innovation, even if it's not always advisable innovation, and The Wisdom of Crocodiles is one of the better 'new wave' vampire films. It actually seems to be taking more influence from George Romero's excellent 'Martin' than 'The Addiction' anyway. The Wisdom of Crocodiles (great name, by the way) stars Jude Law, in a tight performance, as a man afflicted with some sort of curse that forces him to suck the blood of women while in the act of lovemaking. To say any more than that would mean spoiling it, so I'll leave it there.

The Wisdom of Crocodiles has gained itself something of a cult following, and the channel I saw it on even introduced it as a 'cult classic'. I think this is an incorrect description of the film, as although it's not bad and certainly has it's moments; it hardly has the same qualities as true cult masterpieces, such as the aforementioned 'Martin'. The film benefits from a brooding atmosphere that is created by a brooding musical score that plays through almost the entire running time. This never gets annoying however, as the music is good and almost always adds to the images seen on screen. The film is slowly plotted, which might annoy some people and it's littered with philosophical ideas that Jude Law utters for a lot of the running time. This will probably irritate people that tuned in expecting a vampire movie, especially as there's little bloodletting, but some of the ideas put forward are fairly interesting, and keep the film alive.

This film shouldn't really be in with the classic vampire films at all, as it's a completely different animal (I suppose they couldn't really put it in with 'brooding cursed people', though). Vampire fans should take note of this, but even without the classic vampire thrills; there is much to like about this British chiller.

I will honestly tell you, my reason for renting this movie was because of the brilliant actor named Jude Law. After viewing this movie twice, (I do that with all films I find intriguing, for I am a closet critic at heart), I have decided that, The Wisdom of Crocodiles, is Jude Law's best acting performance yet.

He manages to pull off charm, sex appeal, mystery, intelligence, hope, hopelessness, agony, despair, defeat, and last but not least, innocence. Do I have your attention?

Now I ask myself, can this truly be classified as a "Vampire Movie"? And when we utter that word, vampire, we ultimately see blood, fangs, and darkness and we remember Anne Rice, for she is the truest tale-teller of these malicious creatures. No, that is not what the Wisdom of Crocodiles represents. It takes every story, every image, and every idea we have of vampires and puts them in an interesting and unique perspective of a modern day bloodsucker. It allows you to feel what its main character felt. The range of emotions is spectacular. And you, as well as the vampire, nearly forget to breathe.

If you have not yet seen this movie, rent it today. Rent it yesterday.

I give my strongest standing ovation to the writers, directors, producers and actors who painted this picture into a true stroke of genius. Thank you.

There is nothing about this film's jacket that impresses one with the thought provoking dialog that is inside. I am most impressed with this film as among the few that causes me to become introspective.

The discussion that Steven Grlscz (Jude Law) has with Healey about good and evil, is the essence of the film. "Evil isn't just malice, murder and rape and massacre. Before everything, the devil is the father of lies. The lies you tell, the truth you don't tell. Everything hidden is theft. Everything reserved from those we love is fraud. And there's always something, isn't there? What everyone wants is for evil people to be off insidiously committing evil deeds. Then they can be separate from ordinary men and women and destroyed. But the line that separates good and evil cuts through every human heart. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart."

Is Grlscz unknowingly speaking his own epitaph? Worthy viewing for those who think.

I'm not one to be at a loss of words when it comes to movies, but I believe I have seen one of the best of all time. What do you do to a vampire movie to make it stand above the rest? Don't make it an obvious vampire movie that's what you do. Po-Chih Leong did an excellent job of directing a film which kept me, a vampire movie enthusiast glued to my seat.

He didn't use the typical dark gloomy setting per typical vamp movies, neither did he restrict hi vampire character to the typical stereotypes of common vampire movies. This vampire could be out in the sunlight, see his reflection, yaddayaddayadda. The only thing that holds to the truth is he must drink blood. He is caring, sensitive, and above even his thirst all he is searching for is love.

The plot of this movie was outstanding. The dialog made me think of having everyday conversations. Jude Law was an excellent pick for the main character. I give this movie a 10 based on it's originality and new look at vampires. It can be a bit slow at parts but over all an outstanding movie.