Time hangs heavily on our hands today.
So we told ourselves, sweetie, tis’ time for a nice flick.
As we were trolling through Netflix‘ Instant Play collection, we stumbled upon the Swedish film Let the Right One In.
Looks interesting. Definitely.
A quick glance at the reviews suggests that the movie has found considerable favor with the critics.
Indeed, the movie has a sky-high rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Released in 2008, Let the Right One In is directed by Tomas Alfredson.
Don’t worry if Swedish is not your native tongue. The movie has English subtitles (we watched a few minutes already).
We’ll update this post in a few hours after watching the 114-minute film.
Update
:
Who knew horror movies could be so lovely.
What happens when a 12-year-old Swedish boy, relentlessly bullied at school, befriends a 12-year-blood-thirsty vampire girl, who moves into his adjacent apartment.
Will he eventually end up a victim. Remember, there’s already been several gory murders in the vicinity.
Or will young Oskar’s fate turn out to be different.
Watch this fine movie to find out for yourself.
Besides the solid screenplay, we were most impressed with the two kids Lina Leandersson (cast in the role of Eli, the vampire girl) and Kåre Hedebrant (plays the 12-year-old Oskar).
Amazing performances by the kids. So natural.
Even our veteran Bollywood stars are no match for these young kids.
Much of the film is shot in a nondescript setting, a lot of it indoor and some scenes in the snow outside.
No fancy locations like Mexico or Namibia (like our Indian film-makers often resort to in vain hopes of camouflaging the lack of a compelling story) or relying on computer graphics (except on one occasion and even that’s done so well).
Mind you, Let the Right One In is not a fast paced movie with ugly looking creatures flying about or screeching loudly every 15 minutes.
If there is one complaint some of you might have with this film, it’s that there are hardly any really scary moments.
Well, think of Let the Right One In as a vampire movie for the 21st century.
Not surprisingly, this fine movie has won a panoply of awards across the world.
SearchIndia.com strongly recommends Let the Right One In.
If you live in the U.S., you can get Let the Right One In from Netflix (both on Instant Play and DVD).
Let the Right One In – Lovely Horror Film added by SearchIndia.com on
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Interesting. Awaiting your review…
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Still watching.
Post now updated.
did u watch Sivi ? its a remake os thai film Shutter. not bad !
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You Write Above:
Sivi? No, not yet.
Will watch Shutter first.
watched the English version (Joshua Jackson) of shutter.. no good.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Let the Right One In is nice.
If you still have Netflix, no need to even wait for the DVD.
yes, planning to watch it.. thanks
I watched this one the time it got released. I liked the ending though it’s tragic. According to the novel, Eli is a guy. That’s the reason why she says to him ” I’m not a girl”. I personally think one of the scenes could have been avoided but if you’ve read the novel, there’s a reason for that scene.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Achtung: SPOILERS AHEAD
1. You write: I liked the ending though it’s tragic
The ending is not tragic for the main characters Oskar and Eli, only for the other tormentors.
2. You write: According to the novel, Eli is a guy. That’s the reason why she says to him ” I’m not a girl”.
True, this dialog/scene occurs in the movie too. But I’m not a girl can also be interpreted as meaning I’m a vampire.
Though the movie shows Eli’s nude front once, it didn’t seem like she had a clear dick.
Also taken along with other elements like going steady, the kiss, feminine clothing, the romantic undertone, refusal to kill Oskar when he cuts his hand and starts bleeding, final rescue et al, one could surmise Eli is a girl. Unless there was a subliminal gay aspect that we overlooked.
SI: “Though the movie shows Eli’s nude front once, it didn’t seem like she had a clear dick”
According to the book, Eli’s penis would be mutilated by his dad, thus the scar in his private part.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Achtung: SPOILERS AHEAD
Right, it did seem a wee bit abnormal without a clear slit normal to the female sex.
But as we said in our previous (spoiler) comment, the various elememts in Eli’s personality make the character seem feminine.
you made me query up U2’s Achtung baby.. it is tough to avoid peeking to see what you have written in bold in the last paragraph, but I have successfully avoided it.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Achtung, as you know by now, is warning in German.
Downloaded. Will watch it and review 🙂
Btw just back from Final Destination 4. Crappiest movie…
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Final Destination has received mostly poor reviews here.
If District 9 has arrived in India, definitely worth a deko.
This post is not related to the above movie.
Check out this year’s National Awards (awarded by the Govt. of India). No Khans, Kapoors, and Kumars.
http://movies.rediff.com/report/2009/sep/07/national-awards-announced.htm
Unlike the Filmfare Awards which are mostly stage managed, National Awards have retained an element of dignity.
While there are controversies once in a while, you wouldn’t grudge most of the winners most of the time.
Prakash Raj, who has bagged the best actor award, is actually Prakash Rai (from Dakshina Kannada aka Mangalore). He did some Kannada movies, before moving fulltime into Tamil and Telugu.
He is also a producer who makes movies with newcomers.
Remember Paheli and Shah Rukh Khan ?
In 1996/97, there was a movie called Nagamandala, based on a play by Girish Karnad. The play had the same story as that of Paheli. Prakash Raj played the dual role in that movie. You only have to see Nagamandala to figure out how inadequate SRK is, as a performer.
Incidentally, SRK was in contention along with Prakash Raj for the best actor National Award.
This movie Kanchivaram for which Prakash Raj got the award, seems to be a rather poignant tale, and readers of SI will be happy if you can watch it and review it.
Again, the jury deciding the National Awards forgot that Chak De India was a rip-off of Miracle (2003, Kurt Russel), and promptly handed it over, the “award for Best Film in overall entertainment”.
You MUST get “Dharm” (2007) somehow (buy/rent/borrow/beg/steal) and watch it.
You are unlikely to get it for rent, since the movie was not popular.
Watch it for Pankaj Kapoor (this Kapoor is a bit different), and the impact of the movie.
It is not entertaining in the normal sense, but the movie has enough to hold your attention.
Dharam has been given National Integration Award.
No, you dont have to sit through any preachings in Dharm.
I found it better than Zhakhm.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: Prakash Raj …has bagged the best actor award
Just woke up and saw this welcome news.
Prakash Raj is a fine actor and we’ve seen some of his movies in Tamil.
Amidst the vast Sahara of incompetence in Kollywood, Prakash Raj is that rare oasis of talent.
We’d say he deserves the award.
Kanchivaram is coming to Netflix but not sure when. Will definitely watch & review soon as it gets here.
2. You write: You MUST get “Dharm” (2007) somehow (buy/rent/borrow/beg/steal) and watch it. You are unlikely to get it for rent, since the movie was not popular.
Dharm is available on Netflix. Added it to our queue and moved it to No-1. Will review it on Thursday/Friday (assuming we get it on Thurs).
3. Chak de India was a piece of crap. Unworthy of any award except a booby prize.
But why is a 2007 film getting the award now. Perhaps, the national awards in India are a biennial phenomenon.