tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post5185223971466741885..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: Let the Right One InEd Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-43151875244169047472011-03-09T08:48:37.062-05:002011-03-09T08:48:37.062-05:00Thanks, Shubhajit. You're right, this film wil...Thanks, Shubhajit. You're right, this film will definitely be considered a new classic of the vampire genre, and will no doubt long be remembered as a film that dared to do something new and interesting with this horror subgenre.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-8685633093629613202011-03-08T15:15:43.731-05:002011-03-08T15:15:43.731-05:00Amazing review of a film that I really loved.
Ye...Amazing review of a film that I really loved. <br /><br />Yes, both teenage alienation and punishment play strong roles in the film, withe the burgeoning friendship of the two lonely, misunderstood kids providing the emotional backbone of the story. <br /><br />The film also provided a fascinating deconstruction of the vampire sub-genre of horror films, and will act as a pioneer for horror movie Shubhajithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02040495040897333606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-79632094762844396972011-03-08T11:40:51.210-05:002011-03-08T11:40:51.210-05:00Thanks, Pierre. I do think those scenes with Oskar...Thanks, Pierre. I do think those scenes with Oskar's dad show how good the film is at economical storytelling; it's not made explicit in any way, but those brief scenes do add to the portrait of Oskar's life and why he is the way he is. Even the good things, like those scenes with his dad, show that he's got no one to really confide in, since he doesn't do or say anything Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-91255642144386772392011-03-08T11:14:44.423-05:002011-03-08T11:14:44.423-05:00"when [Oskar] does see his dad, it seems like..."when [Oskar] does see his dad, it seems like a vacation, a time for fun and games rather than anything serious."<br /><br />Yes -- I also think the scenes with the dad say so much and with an economy of dialogue. Clearly, the dad is a jock type who never grew up to accept the responsibility of fatherhood. The effect of this on Oskar is made very clear.<br /><br />The remake is worth Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13431969460465592202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-45427128533750399152011-03-04T18:32:23.695-05:002011-03-04T18:32:23.695-05:00Makes perfect sense, Leroy. You're right, the ...Makes perfect sense, Leroy. You're right, the film's ambiguity adds a great deal to this story, especially when it comes to the end and one is simply left to wonder how we're supposed to feel about all this, and what could possibly be next for these characters. <br /><br />Interesting thoughts about Hakan, too. I had thought he was slipping with age, assuming that he must've been Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-59020843475057583922011-03-04T18:18:23.286-05:002011-03-04T18:18:23.286-05:00I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by Let ...I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by <i>Let Me In</i>, Ed. I liked both pictures about evenly. <i>Let the Right One In</i> has the advantage of being the original; <i>Let Me In</i> treads mostly familiar ground but earns bonus points by showing Matt Reeves actually knows what to do with a camera. I thought the former had more dark poetry and lyricism, while the latter had the stronger Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-20224903518992285312011-03-04T17:46:44.802-05:002011-03-04T17:46:44.802-05:00Hated the remake: really clumsy story-telling plus...Hated the remake: really clumsy story-telling plus fake snow and terrible CGI. Worse was the lack of any kind of connection between the two main characters - they each had little depth of their own, so not a shock. Felt like I was watching a community theatre production, maybe good intentions but buried under mediocrity at every turn. Skip it and be happy with Alfredson's film.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-75262831116685050752011-03-04T16:51:45.861-05:002011-03-04T16:51:45.861-05:00this is going to be a little dashed off and rambli...this is going to be a little dashed off and rambling but hopefully it will make sense.<br /><br />to me the most truthful and beautiful part of the film (and what's not made clear in the essay) is its ambiguity.<br /><br />the erotic underpinnings of standing half naked in front of a cold window saying "squeal like a pig". making the bully characters three dimensional and a little Leroysghostnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-15061693279556692802011-03-04T13:25:24.714-05:002011-03-04T13:25:24.714-05:00I think where the American re-make fails to match ...I think where the American re-make fails to match the original most glaringly is the inability to replicate the unsettling atmospherics and to impart the Swedish's film's profound and fascinating examination of the central relationship. It's one thing to encore the narrative and the celebrated set pieces, but quite another to the nuances and underling eeriness that made the themes inSam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-35561017733894438832011-03-04T11:06:51.153-05:002011-03-04T11:06:51.153-05:00Kevin, I'm glad to hear you say that the Reeve...Kevin, I'm glad to hear you say that the Reeves film is interesting in its own right, and I do plan on checking it out eventually. I'm sure I'll be writing about it once I get around to it.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-46602087877470796972011-03-04T10:43:28.492-05:002011-03-04T10:43:28.492-05:00Let Me In is so much more than that, Ed. I had the...<i>Let Me In</i> is so much more than that, Ed. I had the same reservations you're articulating about the American remake; however, I have to say, Matt Reeves' version is so much more than just a lazy remake for lazy Americans that can't handle subtitles. <br /><br />Reeves even states that his film is more interested in the coming of age aspect of the Oskar character, so his film Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-32667696258843692022011-03-04T10:10:40.160-05:002011-03-04T10:10:40.160-05:00Yes, it's a very well-made, beautifully shot f...Yes, it's a very well-made, beautifully shot film, very suggestive and interesting. I've heard the chatter about the American remake being even better, but haven't gotten around to seeing it yet. It may well be better, but I'm more than a little suspicious of these instant remakes that exist for no other reason than the laziness and disinterest of American audiences when Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-57092354019550763412011-03-04T09:11:18.751-05:002011-03-04T09:11:18.751-05:00"The film has some surprising similarities to..."The film has some surprising similarities to Gus Van Sant's Elephant in its poetic observation of alienation at school and at home, and it similarly raises questions about root causes and hidden evils."<br /><br />I have never thought to make that correlation Ed, but I must say I like it quite a bit! In any case LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is an elegant and pictorially arresting film Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com