Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)

[LQ]

Another thing that I gather was emphasized in the book and was only alluded to in the movie with a couple of lines and a two second shot was the fact that:

Spoiler

Eli (Elias) was a eunuch boy.

Wow, I must've blinked! Can you refresh my memory on what scene that was in? I either didn't pick up on this, or I completely forgot!

[Jeff]

Wow, I must've blinked! Can you refresh my memory on what scene that was in? I either didn't pick up on this, or I completely forgot!

Spoiler

Alfredson decided to leave it very ambiguous. There are a couple of lines where Eli says things like "would you still love me if I wasn't a girl" and even "I'm not a girl." Of course those could be interpreted to mean "I'm a vampire," but there is also the very brief "nude scene" (which was completely prosthetic -- including the legs), showing a horizontal scar where the genitals should be.

I'll try and dig up that interview where Alfredson discusses this.

[Murdoch]

Another thing that I gather was emphasized in the book and was only alluded to in the movie with a couple of lines and a two second shot was the fact that:

Spoiler

Eli (Elias) was a eunuch boy.

I read an interview with the director which mentioned that he shot scenes that made this more explicit, but decided to cut them.

Spoiler

I thought this was a weak aspect of the film because Eli is hinted it as being a castrated boy, but when Eli is shown in his/her true age she is clearly an older woman. I don't know if this was meant to create a sense of ambiguity in terms of Eli's gender, but it was conflicting in how the gender issue was presented. I'm interested in if the DVD will include deleted scenes and how much they will expand upon this part of the film.

[Jeff]

Here's the interview I mentioned (big ol' spoilers). I apologize for the source...I swear I first saw it quoted someplace else.

I have also heard that Alfredson doesn't want any supplements on the DVD.

[LQ]

Aha. I did note that scar when I saw it, very unsettling. Terribly, I assumed it was the result of some kind of abuse and left it at that.

Spoiler

Or something to do with how she got "made" into a vampire. If "True Blood" has taught me anything, it's that vampires like the femoral artery

Not something I wanted to dwell on, at all.

Thanks for the interview!

[franco]

I find it more satisfying to disregard the unnecessary information from the book and simply savor the ambiguity of the film.

[moviscop]

yeah, i was a bit thrown off by the info added above. i liked its ambiguity.

wow...

[Antoine Doinel]

Thanks to the small buzz surrounding the film and praise from the members of this board, I went to check out the film tonight. I thought it was very, very good but I think one thing that must be said, is that this is by no means a "horror" film. For me, it was a coming of age film first, a love story second and in a distant third, a "horror" film. I didn't find the film scary in any sense, and this film is more about discovery. I think the masterstroke of the film is giving us the child's perspective on the events. Only a child could so openly understand, without reservation, that someone they like is a vampire. It's so refreshing to watch a film of this nature, where the issue of the film isn't the "monster". I was so glad it didn't imperil the relationship, but only made it more unique, alluring and ultimately stronger. I couldn't help thinking of the line from Punch Drunk Love, while watching the film: "I have a love in my life, and it makes me stronger than anything you can imagine."

In terms of visual aesthetics, outside of Paranoid Park, I don't think I've seen a better shot, framed and paced film this year. Alfredson is such control of every inch of screen space, it's astounding. His pacing is almost scary in its perfection.

Despite some minor quibbles with the film, I have to recommend this wholeheartedly. Like others have, skip the (misleading) ads, trailers, avoid seeing any stills if possible and just see if it's playing in your neighborhood and go see it.

[filmnoir1]

I saw this today and I have to agree with much of what has been said both in the press and here on the board. This is a phenomenal film on all levels: aesthetic of shots is simply gorgeous and depressing in the same instant, a quality that reminded me of Haneke's and Kieslowski's films. There is a sparseness to the performances and the film as a whole that I applaud because it forces you to savor every minute of the film and requires your undivided attention or else you will miss a simple gesture that possess a larger resonance in the narrative or an action that is cloaked by the bleak locale and subject matter.
I especially loved the use of sound in this film. There is very little "movie music" and instead Alfredson uses the soundscape of the locations such as the crunching of snow underfoot, the whistling wind, etc, mixed with diegetic music to create a sensation that only heightens the viewing and the power of the narrative.
It is not your traditional horror tale or even vampire story but there is a level of creepiness and questioning of what we think we know and see to maintain its generic roots. In many ways this film reminded me of existential philosophy especially watching Oskar struggle with his own desires and fears. A great film that should get some Oscar attention in the foreign language category and one that should not be missed.

[Jeff]

In many ways this film reminded me of existential philosophy especially watching Oskar struggle with his own desires and fears. A great film that should get some Oscar attention in the foreign language category and one that should not be missed.

There will be no Oscar for Oskar. Sweden submitted a different film, so LtROI is not eligible in the foreign language category.

[Alyosha]

In many ways this film reminded me of existential philosophy especially watching Oskar struggle with his own desires and fears. A great film that should get some Oscar attention in the foreign language category and one that should not be missed.

There will be no Oscar for Oskar. Sweden submitted a different film, so LtROI is not eligible in the foreign language category.

Even though I haven't seen it yet (the cineasts in Sweden has a rough time these days with one company, favoring the blockbusters, in what is almost a monopoly situation among the cinema theatres) I doubt Everlasting Moments will top Let the Right One In. However, the director Jan Troell is one of the few great directors in Swedish cinema the last decades and his film might appeal to the oscar jury in a better way than Let the Right One In could do. After all, it seems as if it is close to get a nomination (as it did with the Golden Globes).

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

There will be no Oscar for Oskar. Sweden submitted a different film, so LtROI is not eligible in the foreign language category.

It was ineligible, but not for this reason -- the cutoff date for the Foreign Language category was September 30th and LTROI didn't open in Sweden until late October. The Swedes can put it up for next year's awards if they want to.

[thirtyframesasecond]

I saw this last night at a special preview at the BFI Southbank, London.

All I can say is WOW. I've read through this thread, thinking over the numerous theories and explanations and they're all possible. It's a very evasive and vague film, full of ambiguity, and I like that. At the heart though is a very melancholic film about two individuals searching for a connection. The most striking scene for me was the first student Hakan kills - it's shown in such meticulous, drawn out detail. Alfredson ensures Hakan's body position shields the murder from us, but the drip of the blood into the bottle is just as frightening as watching the throat slash would have been. Leandersson produces one of the best performances I can recently think of, and not just a child performance - those saucer eyes perfectly summing up her sadness and isolation more than her words ever could. Only minor gripe is the ending, which I didn't really like. I wished it had ended when Eli said she had to leave, but as well as the scene at the pool was filmed, completely underwater, it didn't sit satisfactorily with me. Still, it's an astonishing film, could quite easily sit at the top of my 2009 list.

[jbeall]

I'll add to the chorus of "wows" from the board. I thought this film was phenomenal, and one of its (many) strengths was its ambiguity.

Spoiler

Is it a vampire movie or the hallucination of a serial killer? What about the older guy? What about Eli's sex? I think the film leaves these questions wonderfully up in the air.

I personally thought the guardian was basically Oskar's predecessor. The thematic link of the knives has already been mentioned, but there's also the scene when he asks Eli not to see Oskar that evening. He also seems as socially withdrawn as Oskar, and I think that affective distance is another thematic link. Eli is clearly drawn to these types, either b/c they can empathize with her plight or b/c their distance makes them more likely to fly under the radar when people start dying mysteriously, or both. Anywhoo, I found the scene where he offers his neck to Eli terriby moving.

Re: Lacke knowing which apartment to go into. He sits down across from Eli's guardian early in the film and invites him to join his group, and mentions having seen him move in, no?

Finally,

Spoiler

If Oskar either becomes a serial killer or a vampire-enabler (same thing?), then I'd say that the consequences of having Eli as the mediator of his violent fantasies is pretty clear. In other words, I would quibble with Grand Illusion's suggestion that LtROi is "essentially a revenge fantasy without making Oskar culpable." If he's not culpable yet, he will be soon enough.

I'm still processing it, so I'll stop there, except to add this: the dvd has English as the default audio option--if you haven't seen the film, for the love of god switch to the Swedish and put the subtitles on. The voice acting is distractingly bad. I switched the audio about fifteen minutes in and had to go back and rewatch the beginning (also, the dubbing and the subtitles aren't even remotely similar, which was odd).

[domino harvey]

While on the whole I give it a marginal thumbs up, I do have some pretty nagging criticisms of the film. Firstly, and most obviously, the entire subplot with the "infected" woman, from cats to flames, was horrid and borderline laughable. I also thought the male lead was pretty listless and no match whatsoever for the actress who played Eli (the one aspect of the film which has wholly earned the praise given). Though I think the Fight Club reading of the film is a bit silly, I do think one of the film's strengths is found in how effectively Eli functions as juvenile wish fulfillment for Oskar. Certainly it's not hard to imagine why he falls for her, beside their damaged compatibility. But if the older figure was Oskar's precursor, then the fractured first love story between the two kids the film appears to be offering is far less effective. All the best moments involve Eli's sacrifices for Oskar, but if she's made these types of crush-y advances before, then so what?

[Magic Hate Ball]

But if the older figure was Oskar's precursor, then the fractured first love story between the two kids the film appears to be offering is far less effective. All the best moments involve Eli's sacrifices for Oskar, but if she's made these types of crush-y advances before, then so what?

I think that the realization that Eli has been baiting Oskar the whole time adds a pretty disturbing dimension to the film. Even in Eli there is no way out for Oskar.

[Murdoch]

I caught this again last night, and I'm afraid the film's impact on me has considerably lessened. While I still love Leandersson's performance and how brilliantly she captured the daze-like apathy of immortality, the actual storyline seemed to drag.

I agree with domino about the sub-plot, and the cat scene I found laughable - along with everyone in the audience since they seemed lost in hysterics during it. But I disagree that Hedebrant didn't do well, I thought he played the part of a bullied kid perfectly with his squinted stare and mumbled voice, but opposite Leandersson his performance doesn't shine since she constantly outdoes him (and everyone else).

Mostly though I just found it uninteresting the second time through, outside of Leandersson most of it failed to grab me and I was left somewhat depressed by the events that unfolded on screen instead of finding them arresting like the first time.

[Cold Bishop]

I agree with domino about the sub-plot, and the cat scene I found laughable - along with everyone in the audience since they seemed lost in hysterics during it.

Well, while part of that has to do with the poor decision to use cartoonish CGI, it does raise the question: Can you show a mass cat-mauling and not drive an audience into hysterics? In real life, its rather vicious, but I don't believe I've seen one in a movie that didn't raise some chuckle from the audience.

[domino harvey]

I think that the realization that Eli has been baiting Oskar the whole time adds a pretty disturbing dimension to the film.

Which is a thoroughly creepy and effective premise if so. Unfortunately this film expends so much energy in the opposite direction that it can neither pull off such a reversal nor can it then justify what came before upon such doubts manifesting.

[Murdoch]

I agree with domino about the sub-plot, and the cat scene I found laughable - along with everyone in the audience since they seemed lost in hysterics during it.

Well, while part of that has to do with the poor decision to use cartoonish CGI, it does raise the question: Can you show a mass cat-mauling and not drive an audience into hysterics? In real life, its rather vicious, but I don't believe I've seen one in a movie that didn't raise some chuckle from the audience.

I blame America's Funniest Home Videos.

[aox]

Well don't worry people, this film has been bought and is being remade for American audiences. Maybe they will get it right THIS TIME.

Summer of 2010.

[ryan11]

Well don't worry people, this film has been bought and is being remade for American audiences. Maybe they will get it right THIS TIME.

Well, that's a surprise. Expect more gore and nudity, and the children will be played by 25 year old models. Oh, and the vampire will be 'cured', and they will live happily ever after. Many cgi will lose their lives for the remake.

[domino harvey]

Big issues with the US DVD's subtitles exposed here.

[Antoine Doinel]

I guess they got the same guys who did the subs for La Haine. That's pretty appalling.

[knives]

I guess they got the same guys who did the subs for La Haine. That's pretty appalling.

The Criterion La Haine? Is La Haine that shoddy?