The DrawingBoard

by **Kelly Tindall** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 3:53 pm

The director was asked about that during an interview, and he said that the father was not gay but that assuming so was an excellent guess. I just assumed that the dad was gay, that he left Oskar and his mother for another man.

I also like that the parents weren't Roald Dahl villains, and were not monstrous people.

by **HellboyOne** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:51 am

Finally saw it last night and loved it. So many original touches...quite unique for a vampire movie where we've seen everything. My wife, who read the book, was a little less than enthusiastic. I plan on reading it soon.

by **jakob westman** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:22 am

Out on DVD in Sweden last week.
Very thin on bonus material, I'm hoping there will be yet another (2-disc?) release as well.

/ Jakob

by **drugmassacre** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:51 am

saw that it finally came out on dvd and promptly added it to my netlfix list....should get it early next week. Excited!

by **drugmassacre** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:56 pm

FINALLY saw this tonight

i liked it a lot

reading through this thread answered a lot of questions...the crotch shot was so brief i wasn;t sure what my reaction was supposed to be.

I also wasn't sure what the relationship between Eli and 'her' "father' was supposed to be...i almost was suspicious that he met her when he was Oskar's age and had been with 'her' since then?

Regardlss of these things it's a great movie and I loved the subtely of storytelling and the unwillingness to explain vampire lore to us...it was great that it was assumed that THE AUDIENCE ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD VAMPRYRIC MYTHOLOGY

One huge question - and maybe i just wasn't paying attention - how does the man know where Eli lives?!?! I was super confused at that point

by **SeraphSword** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:34 am

drugmassacre wrote:
One huge question - and maybe i just wasn't paying attention - how does the man know where Eli lives?!?! I was super confused at that point

It's a little dubious, but as I recall he made the connection based on the fact that he was new in the neighborhood, with a young girl in tow. You'll recall they gossiped about him a little in the diner/cafe when he was standoff-ish.

by **HellboyOne** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:25 am

I'm reading the book now. When the movie ended, I just wanted to spend more time with the characters immediately. Lindsey said there's a lot more in the book that didn't make it to the screen so...

Anyway....I'm a little perplexed by the one big negative commenter here. Drab? I just loved the relationship between Oskar and Eli. It's weird to say but it just felt so real. It took me to being that age and having strong bonds with other kids that I couldn't understand.

I read somewhere that when they sent each other the Morse code messages, they were sending the Swedish word for "small kiss". I thought that was just so fucking sweet.

My good feelings of this movie have been smeared a bit by the knowledge of an American remake looming. Maybe the naysayers will like that version. :roll:

by **Captain Genius** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 4:22 pm

I've had a copy sitting on my desk for a few months now.
I'll watch it eventually.

by **krisvahl** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 4:39 pm

HellboyOne wrote:Anyway....I'm a little perplexed by the one big negative commenter here. Drab? I just loved the relationship between Oskar and Eli. It's weird to say but it just felt so real. It took me to being that age and having strong bonds with other kids that I couldn't understand.

Considering that same person also thought Will Smith's Seven Pounds was a masterpiece...that should explain things.

HellboyOne wrote:My good feelings of this movie have been smeared a bit by the knowledge of an American remake looming. Maybe the naysayers will like that version.

They are going to change this movie sooo much. The vampire's gender for one thing.

by **Doh** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:30 pm

I just finished the book myself a coupla days ago -- great read.

**SOME SPOILERS AHEAD**

I was a bit disappointed they didn't really go into what the deal was with his father's friend. In the movie, his relationship with the dad seemed much more sinister -- gay? A vampire himself??

There's a great story arc with Eli's "dad" that would've upped the creep factor in the movie 1000% -- but also would've tacked on another hour to its running length. Again, well worth reading the book for.

Lastly, the ending in the book is much softer than the badass ending in the movie. As I was running out of pages, I was wondering how they were gonna handle the pool scene AND the train scene. The movie handled both much better, I thought.

by **bangalore_monkey** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:18 am

well all this commentary convinced me to rent it.

li'l spoilers ahead

really great, creepy movie.

there were quite a few bits that were unexpected for me, plenty of wtf's shouted at the screen. i was actually quite shocked at the beginning when the old dude just started draining that kid. i really didn't think that eli was coming back in the end either.

i am glad that i read this thread, because, as others have said some of the ambiguity was a bit confusing.

one question, is oskar now taking the place of the old man? we now know what kind of life that is, sucks for him!

by **Kelly Tindall** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:51 am

Eli treated the old man like a hateful employee. Eli cares for Oskar, and I don't think he/she will subject Oskar to the same fate as the old man.

But maybe Eli will. That's why it's a great movie.

by **krisvahl** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:28 pm

Kelly Tindall wrote:Eli treated the old man like a hateful employee. Eli cares for Oskar, and I don't think he/she will subject Oskar to the same fate as the old man.

But maybe Eli will. That's why it's a great movie.

I interpreted it a bit differently. I got the feeling that the old man started off the same way as Oskar and that eventually Eli had to go looking for someone young to replace him. I don't think Eli cares for Oskar at all. She knows that Oskar is infatuated with 'her' and she will now use that to mould him into what she needs him to be i.e someone who is willing to kill for her. Eli can see the violent tendencies that Oskar has.

Even saving him in the pool scene was just a way to ensure her meal ticket. So basically in Oskar she found someone young, naive, with violent tendencies and totally devoted and she's not about to let him go. In time when he gets older he'll end up the same way as the old man. Sad, but that's the impression I got.

Saying that, I haven't read the book. So their relationship may go into more depth.

by **bangalore_monkey** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:39 pm

yeah, that's more or less how i saw it, but, ugh. that's so depressing, seeing how happy Oscar is at the end. i suppose that's fitting, who said vampire stories were supposed to be happy.

by **drugmassacre** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:53 pm

how drab

The DrawingBoard

Let The Right One In

Who is online