Swedish director Tomas Alfredson's new work.... heres the trailer ( fang here and fang here ) for that and a most interesting article about the film courtesy of L.A. Times.
Full Version: Let The Right One In
FWIW, this film has been gaining a lot of acclaim on the cult/genre film circuit. It was recently awarded first place in the audience awards at this year's Toronto After Dark Film Festival, and I know that the folks at Twitch have been raving about it. Here's Todd's review:
You can also watch the trailer and a clip from the film in HD over on Apple's site.
QUOTE
The film is beautifully shot and anchored by very strong performances from its young leads and stands quite easily as the most compelling new entry into vampire mythos in … well, as long as I can remember. An exceptional piece of work, Let The Right One In comes with the highest possible recommendation.
You can also watch the trailer and a clip from the film in HD over on Apple's site.
I saw this film a couple of weeks ago at a local Comic book/ Fantasy convention. It's a very good piece of filmmaking with some clever ideas and beautiful shots in it. It has a nice gritty and real feel to it. So very un-Hollywood.
My film lover side thought it was great. My Christian side had problems with the films moral lesson (at least as I perceived it).
My film lover side thought it was great. My Christian side had problems with the films moral lesson (at least as I perceived it).
I just finished seeing Let the Right One In, and thought it was a really extraordinary movie. Since this is the first post, and I don't know if anyone else has seen it yet, I'll keep my comments broad:
• Great cinematography. There's a really interesting use of mirrors throughout the movie, and the framing in some of the scenes is exquisite. When I first started watching it, the Dardennes came to mind in the long, steady shots and the close cropping from time to time, though a lot of reviews are comparing the look to Bergman.
• Really interesting and unique mash-up of genres. It's a horror movie that cares more about the love interest of a 12-year old outcast than high-tension-jumps and gore. That said, it is very creepy and sick. But also very sweet. And the more sweet you allow yourself to see it to be, the more creepy it gets. Very odd and unique.
• Some very funny moments, though sometimes very darkly funny.
Anyway, I hope more of you decide to check this out, because I'm really interested in finding out what everyone else thinks. There was one shot that just totally caught me by surprise and has really made me hesitant to recommend this movie to much of anyone - even those who usually are less "content-focused". I'm talking about the very brief shot of Eli's crotch when she's changing after walking into Oskar's house uninvited and bleeding all over. I can suggest a couple explanations for this shot, but it was still really surprising and disturbing. Maybe after Eli tells him in bed, "I'm not a girl," Oskar had to confirm that she was, at least, female. Maybe it's to add an edge to the movie and make sure the audience knows that Oskar's feelings toward her include an aspect of sexual desire. Maybe it's supposed to stimulate questions on what the sexuality of a 100-year-old vampire (though we don't actually know how old she is) in a 12-year-old's body would entail.
• Great cinematography. There's a really interesting use of mirrors throughout the movie, and the framing in some of the scenes is exquisite. When I first started watching it, the Dardennes came to mind in the long, steady shots and the close cropping from time to time, though a lot of reviews are comparing the look to Bergman.
• Really interesting and unique mash-up of genres. It's a horror movie that cares more about the love interest of a 12-year old outcast than high-tension-jumps and gore. That said, it is very creepy and sick. But also very sweet. And the more sweet you allow yourself to see it to be, the more creepy it gets. Very odd and unique.
• Some very funny moments, though sometimes very darkly funny.
Anyway, I hope more of you decide to check this out, because I'm really interested in finding out what everyone else thinks. There was one shot that just totally caught me by surprise and has really made me hesitant to recommend this movie to much of anyone - even those who usually are less "content-focused". I'm talking about the very brief shot of Eli's crotch when she's changing after walking into Oskar's house uninvited and bleeding all over. I can suggest a couple explanations for this shot, but it was still really surprising and disturbing. Maybe after Eli tells him in bed, "I'm not a girl," Oskar had to confirm that she was, at least, female. Maybe it's to add an edge to the movie and make sure the audience knows that Oskar's feelings toward her include an aspect of sexual desire. Maybe it's supposed to stimulate questions on what the sexuality of a 100-year-old vampire (though we don't actually know how old she is) in a 12-year-old's body would entail.
I have to wonder if the scriptwriters are familiar with Octavia Butler's last novel, Fledgling... I just checked out the Chicago Tribune review of the film and boy, it sound like a riff on Butler, right down to the age of the female protagonist.
OTOH, Butler's plotline is substantially different, but still...
OTOH, Butler's plotline is substantially different, but still...
QUOTE (nardis @ Nov 16 2008, 08:28 PM) 
I have to wonder if the scriptwriters are familiar with Octavia Butler's last novel, Fledgling... I just checked out the Chicago Tribune review of the film and boy, it sound like a riff on Butler, right down to the age of the female protagonist.
OTOH, Butler's plotline is substantially different, but still...
OTOH, Butler's plotline is substantially different, but still...
It's actually based on a Swedish novel that predates Fledgling. Maybe Butler riffed John Ajvide Lindqvist
Could be, though with a twist for sure!
You've got me wanting to see this, and I'm generally not a fan of vampire anything. But you - and the reviewer I cited - have really piqued my curiosity. So many thanks for starting this thread, and for your thoughts.
You've got me wanting to see this, and I'm generally not a fan of vampire anything. But you - and the reviewer I cited - have really piqued my curiosity. So many thanks for starting this thread, and for your thoughts.
Watched this last night and liked it quite a bit, although I had an interruption and had to finish it far too late for full comprehension.
Solishu -- the shot you mention surprised me and made me wonder if that shot alone might push the film into "NC-17," or "unrated" territory. Not because we've never seen a shot like that before, but because of the age of the character, which might lead to some discussion of whether the film is engaging in "child pornography." It's not, of course, but people have gotten fired up over less.
Solishu -- the shot you mention surprised me and made me wonder if that shot alone might push the film into "NC-17," or "unrated" territory. Not because we've never seen a shot like that before, but because of the age of the character, which might lead to some discussion of whether the film is engaging in "child pornography." It's not, of course, but people have gotten fired up over less.
Ooops! Looking through the other film threads for a dedicated thread on another title, I stumbled on this, which merits an AHEM.
QUOTE (Christian @ Nov 22 2008, 01:34 PM)
Ooops! Looking through the other film threads for a dedicated thread on another title, I stumbled on this, which merits an AHEM.
The two threads have been merged.
I just came back from a screening, and I think I have the same reaction to Let The Right One In that I had to Brick. I can't say that I liked it on any deep emotional level, but I definitely appreciated it from an aesthetic and stylistic perspective. I'll try to post some more thoughts, but I did find this interesting -- and spoiler-ish -- bit related to Solishu's earlier comments on the film's Wikipedia page:
QUOTE
There is additional backstory present in the novel for many of the characters that is missing in the film. In the book it is revealed that Eli is a boy and has been castrated many years ago. In the film, this is only hinted at, without any elaboration, in a brief scene in which Eli is changing into a dress, but she does mention to Oscar twice that she "is not a girl", and asks him if he would still like her if she wasn't a girl. There was a scene that touched upon his history through flashbacks, but it was eventually cut.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.