Marquis Casanova is famous for having been a ladies’ man in his past. He is still living large and enjoying life in his old age. One day he arrives at a small farming village in Romania with his faithful servant, and lusts after the women. Then he meets Count Dracula. Don’t expect a Hollywood-like blending of genres just because Casanova and Dracula appear together in a film. This film is far more creative, detailed, and poetic. While the decaying Casanova is quite a crude representation of human appetite and sex drive, the screaming Dracula after drinking blood seems to be suffering, as the servant says, from depression. The two share a cold loneliness and both suffer from ceaseless hungers. Therefore the dark shots made under candlelight become one with their position. The beautiful, exquisite mise-en-scene stands out as much as the subtle sounds fill the film with indescribable poetry, such as the romantic and erotic music and sounds of the wind in the “prologue” sequence. This is Spanish director Albert Serra’s seventh feature, and it won the Golden Leopard Award at this year’s Locarno. (RHEE Soue-won)