The first trailer for Luc Besson’s Dracula: A Love Tale (yes, that’s the full title) is here, and it looks gloriously historic. I didn’t pay much attention to the early reports, but learning that Christoph Waltz plays Van Helsing has me giddy as a school child. I love every role he takes on, and the idea of him going toe-to-toe with Vlad is catnip.
The tale is familiar, sure, but this version looks like it’s being filtered through the eyes of a dreamer rather than an angry stalker. In the short, Dracula the loss of the love of his life, and he believes he can find Elisabeta again. He knows her soul reincarnated and is searching for her. This take may well cover more ground about his beloved before the events of Bram Stoker‘s novel. But by the time we reach the Victorian age, instead of an accidental encounter where he realizes Mina contains Liz’s soul, the trailer makes the vampire’s journey a long crawl toward reaching love eternal than immortal.
Yes, I’ve studied the novel to death, and to see how filmmakers reinvent the wheel often has me looking back at the written work. As a result, I always have to make a point of wondering where Renfield is in each cinematic take. Francis Ford Coppola’s version isn’t definitive, and neither is the classic 1931 film (sorry, Bela). It’s tough to say how Caleb Landry Jones will fare as the Count. The teases only show one side of his demenour, but having Waltz in the mix is an immediate draw for me. It’s safe to say comparisons will be made between Bresson’s version and Coppula’s. As there are key scenes fixed in my memory, I see they have been lifted and given a new polish.
Although the film had a limited screening in France during the summer, the wait for an international release is finally here. What’s revealed in the trailer is rich with period detail, and the set design looks lush in a way that reminds me of the 1992 film’s visual sweep. Waltz may well carry a good chunk of the weight here, too, playing a Van Helsing who feels as relentless as the Count is ageless. The wintery landscape teased for what looks like the climax is also worth clocking, it has that mythic, frozen-fate energy.
Besson hasn’t had a hit on the level of Lucy in a while, but I’ve got high hopes this one steers him back into the limelight. Either way, I’m ready for an unfaithful adaptation if it’s unfaithful in interesting ways, and this trailer absolutely suggests it will be.
Starring: Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz, Zoë Bleu, Guillaume de Tonquedec, Matilda De Angelis, Ewens Abid, Raphael Luce
Plot Synopsis: When a 15th-century prince (Caleb Landry Jones) witnesses the brutal murder of his wife (Zoë Bleu), he renounces God and damns heaven itself. Cursed with eternal life, he is reborn as Dracula, an immortal warlord who defies fate in a blood-soaked crusade to wrench his lost love back from death, no matter the cost. On the verge of reuniting, Dracula is hunted by a relentless priest (Christoph Waltz), sworn to end his immortal reign.
Dracula, A Love Tale Trailer
