Anyone who has seen Jim Jarmusch’s wry vampire comedy “Only Lovers Left Alive” will recall the scene close to the end of the movie, in which the immortal, bloodsucking lovers Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) cease wandering the narrow alleyways of Tangier to marvel at a throaty, hypnotic performance of the love song “Hal,” by Lebanese singer-songwriter Yasmine Hamdan. Nodding at the swaying singer, clad in black leather trousers and an embroidered belt, her bare arms encased in bangles, Eve tells Adam “Her name is Yasmine. She’ll be famous one day.”
“I hope not,” the vampire replies. “She’s too good to be famous.”
Ironically the song, which Hamdan wrote especially for the film, has been named one of 79 tracks competing for Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards.
The slow-paced, mournful track is about a pair of lovers who can’t find a way to be together. Though the separation is killing her, Hamdan sings, she is unable to find any solution.
The official video for the track, an extract from the film, features Hamdan swaying sensually as she sings the haunting number, her dark hair falling across her face. The performance takes place in a dimly lit café, where patrons stand silently under the ugly strip lights, as though mesmerized, and glasses of beer lie forgotten on tables.
The nominations will be announced live on Jan. 15 and the Oscar ceremony is set to take place at the Dolby Theater at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood on Feb. 22.
