let the right one in [2008]

if i become rather effusive in this little essay let me simply declare straight out that at a single viewing of this movie i think i have discovered a masterpiece. i've not seen all the major releases of this now soon to be past year but if i had to choose the single best movie of the year, hell of the past 5 years, than i'd have a hard time coming up with a better title than this feature. i shit you not. it is that good.

i use the word 'genre' to distinguish cult, exploitation and horror films from every other movie produced in the world. but really the word genre is just a sign and it often sounds sometimes like a pejorative term. horror cinema is normally viewed as a guilty pleasure and real adult fare does not include the supernatural in its thematic structures nor the fantastique in design. i say all that provisionally knowing full well that good cinema simply sometimes refuses any borders. thus director tomas alfredson's vampire film let the right one in is a deeply textured, complex piece of fiction. in the end it is a love story about 2 children who are outcasts in their respective social circles and in life in general. they fall in love at the age of 12 years old and it is their first love in all its lightness and awkward motions.

i'm tempted to give away much of the story to describe this picture. i won't. if your lucky to have this movie open in your city then by all means see it and don't read too much about it. for it will surprise you. if you worry that it is gory then fear not. hardly any gore at all but the filmmakers did supply an abundant share of shocks. so be forewarned. however, this is an arthouse pic of such delicate beauty that i was astonished by it. sweden in winter is cold and dark. especially in this movie. alfredson's genius was to ground the film so much in the quotidian so that you never forget that the characters are living in rather small, claustrophobic flats, that the people work for a living, that life can be so ordinary it is boring. alfredson also has a knack of filming faces. every shaving cut, each blemish is visible so grounded in it that we can recognize ourselves in these people.

the score is minimal. instead, alfredson uses ambient sounds, such as neighbors arguing, the passing traffic, the hushed stillness of crunching snow, to ground his movie. the director's talent at framing his scenes is outstanding so that each frame is impeccably composed. what is left out of the frame is of great import too. the pace of the narrative is leisurely, going the speed of a day. nothing is hurried at all however the slower pace amps the course of the children as they fall in love.

and that is what so got me in this film. alfredson so expertly captured that erotic frisson we have all experienced with our first love. holding hands, a first kiss, a short hug, shoulders touching accidentally walking together. each of those moments are filled with an ecstatic peace that keeps us in a holding pattern. it is bittersweet too for those moments are so brief but in their brevity they contain an eternity. there is a scene when eli - the vampire - crawls in to bed with oskar after a night hunting. she is streaked with blood and strips from her clothes as she gets into bed. oskar from the look on his face is both frightened to death by the boldness of the girl but thrilled as well. it is such a well-done scene where the actors create that moment of fear and daring. oskar notices eli is naked but he keeps his back to her as they talk and he falls i imagine into the most delicious sleep of his life.

such scenes of tenderness and futility - for falling in love at the edge of puberty is a futile experience because the love, as deep as it is, is doomed to a short life but the memory and its attendant emotional resonances will last as long as you live - is why i think this film is a masterpiece. the sound is exquisite, the actors are brilliant, the photography is stunning and the story being a deeply textured tale of love left me at the end saddened by the charasters as they move inexorably into the world of adult experiences but i am made richer for having seen it. i think i'll write once more about this movie when i see it again when it gets released on dvd where i'll be more specific about the story and the characters that populated it. in the meantime, take this collection of generalities as a homage to what might become one of the best films of first love ever made. don't believe the hype that you might've read about this pic, including this little essay, for the movie is even better than its commentary.

below is a clip of oskar and eli meeting for the first time. listen to the soundtrack and see how alfredson composed the scene.