Tag: SLIFF

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Alone’

Jeremy:

‘Alone’ is the new horror film from Thai filmmakers Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom, the directors behing ‘Shutter’. Â  ‘Alone’ offers much of the same that is found in your typical, Asian horror film. Â  There’s the brave yet sympathetic protagonist with a secretive past. Â  There’s the atmospheric sets, generally a creepy house or a dark hospital. Â  Both are found here. Â  There’s the sinister ghost, typically a female with long, black hair covering its face that pops up from time to time. Â  It’s all found in ‘Alone’, and the horror aspects of this film are not what make the film work. Â  The drama that surrounds that horror and the background story that goes along with what is happening is better than your average horror film.

The story follows Pim, played by the Thai-German pop sing, Marsha Wattanapanich, a woman who was born a twin, conjoined at the stomach with her sister, Ploy. Â  When the twins were in their teens, they were separated, and Ploy did not survive. Â  Years later, after hearing of her mother’s stroke, Pim returns to her home with her husband, Wee (Vittaya Wasukraipaisan). Â  There, Pim begins envisioning Ploy’s ghost. Â  No one believes her, but the spirit begins growing violent. Â  Throughout the film, we see several flashbacks showing us exactly what happened to Pim and Ploy leading up to their separation and why the ghost is haunting her.

If you just look at the horror elements to ‘Alone’, there really isn’t much to offer here. Â  If you’ve seen one Asian ghost story in recent years, you’ve seen a dozen of them. Â  The ones that offer something genuinely original are few and far between. Â  ‘Alone’ doesn’t even seem to attempt to be anything but a standard in Asian horror. Â  It never pushes itself any harder than it needs to in order to get the story across. Â  A lot more creepiness could have been implemented within the scenes with the ghost. Â  There could have easily been more tension built into the scare. Â  It’s mostly jump-out-and-scare you moments here and there with little between. Â  Because of this, there isn’t anything too scary about ‘Alone’, but that is not where this film’s positives lay.

The drama that surrounds that horror is very well done. Â  The acting between the film’s two leads, Wattanapanich and Wasukraipaisan, is very believable. Â  You really get the sense that these two legitimately care for one another, and, through that, you care for them, as well. Â  The story that unfolds through flashbacks offers the biggest surprises to the film, and that, alone, could have made for a decent film. Â  There really are some shocking moments that come out of these flashbacks. Â  You don’t know where the story is taking you until it comes right up into your face.

‘Alone’ is a film that works as an effective and surprising drama. Â  It deals with many pertinent subjects dealing with family drama such as loss, sibling rivalries, and the survivor’s guilt that keeps one from letting a lost family member go. Â  It is a shame that Pissanthanakum and Wongpoom felt the need to make this a horror film. Â  Even with the subplot dealing with the ghost, it would have worked better as a dramatic effort rather than horror. Â  There are several examples of Asian horror that are scarier and more intense than ‘Alone’. Â  There are definitely worse ones, but this is pretty standard fare when you stand it up to some of the better films in this category. Â  ‘Alone’ is a film worth watching, but not because it’s a good horror film. Â  This is fine drama in horror-based disguise.

[Overall: 3 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Saturday, November 15 @ 10:15 pm (Tivoli)

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Unknown Woman’

Jeremy:

It has been nearly 20 years since Giuseppe Tornatore directed his masterpiece, ‘Cinema Paradiso’, one of the most moving cinematic events this critic has ever experienced. Â  Since then, he has directed some decent yet forgettable films that never really supplanted nor even came up to the level of his earlier effort. Â  With ‘The Unknown Woman’, he takes his direction into the realm of Hitchcock. Â  That is, in subject matter only. Â  As far as execution, ‘The Unknown Woman’ isn’t quite on par with Hitchcock, but how can you really expect that?

‘The Unknown Woman’ is about a Ukrainian woman, Irena, played by the mature and hauntingly simplistic Xenia Rappoport, who moves to a city in northern Italy. Â  She works as a cleaning lady, yet she begins stalking the members of a well of family. Â  Irena quickly maneuvers herself, violently at times, into the position of nanny for the family’s daughter. Â  Who is this woman? Â  Why is she paying special attention to this family? Â  How far is she willing to go? Â  These are all questions that make up the backbone of this film’s story.

The less said about Irena’s past the better. Â  It is very clear early on as to where certain story arcs are going. Â  We are shown quick instances of flashbacks into Irena’s past, and most of it, as a puzzle, is easy to piece together. Â  In fact, as a mystery, ‘The Unknown Woman’ is nothing breathtaking. Â  There are certain “surprises” that come off half-cocked and not all together thought out. Â  The unraveling of the film’s mystery is not dealt with as tightly as you would hope, and, to that end, the story is nothing extraordinary.

Tornatore’s direction, on the other hand, is something to behold. Â  He has a way of holding the camera on certain characters or things, and, without movement, they seem to come to life. Â  Early on, we are shown an upward shot of a spiraling stairwell. Â  It’s a steady shot, and, in all honesty, it’s not a very innovative shot. Â  However, the spiral seems to be moving, and, for a split second, you get a sense of vertigo. Â  Tornatore, along with his cinematographer, Fabio Zamarion, is able to craft some beautiful shots while dealing with things that are otherwise commonplace or even boring.

Add to this the combination of Rappoport’s incredible performance and the beautiful music brought to us by the legendary Ennio Morricone, and you see the potential that ‘The Unknown Woman’ has. Â  Books are written about how incredibly articulate and moving Morricone’s music is. Â  With this film, he doesn’t hold back one bit, and it’s some of the most astonishing movie music heard all year.

Unfortunately, the story gets in the way of all of that. Â  The first half of the film is slow bordering on monotonous. Â  We are supposed to be trying all this time to figure out what is going on and who this woman really is, but those answers are easily sorted out far too quickly. Â  The second half of the film is where the tension is supposed to have been turned up to 11, but that isn’t the case either. Â  Instead, we are left dealing with a number of plot holes and certain character motivations that just seem downright ludicrous.

  ‘The Unknown Woman’ is a film that is beautiful to look at and beautiful to listen to.   Unfortunately, the faulty screenplay behind it doesn’t make the film that beautiful to think about.   In fact, ‘The Unknown Woman’ is a film whose story you will probably forget soon after leaving the theater.   As a director, Tornatore is still far above most others working today.   He just needs an above average script to guide him.

[Overall: 2.5 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Friday, November 14 @ 9:30 pm + Saturday, November 15 @ 6:45 pm (Frontenac)

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Empire State Building Murders’

Jeremy:

After watching William Karel’s film ‘The Empire State Building Murders’, you may just be asking yourself, “Where have all the great film noirs gone?” Â  Well, Karel answers that question pointedly. Â  They haven’t gone anywhere. Â  They are still there in all their black and white glory.

Karel’s film tells the story of the corruption that infested New York City in the 1930s and ’40s. Â  It tells of the criminals and innocents alike who came together in a wave of violence during that period. Â  It tells of the bad people of that time and the horrors they inflicted on the world and of the good people and how their hands were tied to stop it.

But, it’s not Karel’s story, along with co-writer, Jerome Charyn, that is so intriguing about ‘The Empire State Building Murders’. Â  It’s the way the director decided to tell his story that makes this better than the average film noir. Â  Being an avid fan of the cinema and the art of filmmaking, Karel decided that his story had already been told in the vastness of the great, age-old film noirs of yesterday.

In a nutshell, Karel took dozens of films, films that are among the greatest, and cut them up. Â  Clips using such notable actors as James Cagney, Kirk Douglas, Humphrey Bogart, Glenn Ford, and Lauren Bacall are used to tell Karel’s story. Â  He pieced together his own film by running clips from these other films next to one another, gluing his narrative together via voiceover narration.

Also  moving his own narrative along are the countless number of interviews he conducted with the actors that appear in these clips, actors such as Douglas, Ben Gazzara, and Mickey Rooney.

The film moves at a breakneck pace with clips shooting by left and right. Â  At times, it is easy to get lost within the mire of characters and events. Â  The who, what, when, and why of what is going on can often become bewildering, but, like any good film noir, Karel’s use of voiceover narration helps unravel much of the mystery.

Nonetheless, it is kind of jarring to see iconic clips used from very familiar films. Â  It takes you out of the film a time or two when you recognize what film Karel has lifted a particular clip from. Â  Luckily, the clips don’t stick around too long, and, before you know it, you’re on to the next clip.

It goes the same for the actors we see in those clips. Â  Bogart and Ford, in particular, are used for characters who are not in the story very long. Â  Since we don’t really have much devoted to these characters, it becomes a matter of playing the “Hey, it’s that guy” game whenever they pop up.

All of this aside, Karel has put together a very engaging film that utilizes an equally interesting and innovative form of filmmaking. Â  The story may not be so imaginative, and the way the film unfolds could probably have been handled a little more carefully, but ‘The Empire State Building Murders’ absolutely gets an A for effort. [Overall: 3.5 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Saturday, November 22nd @ 4 p.m. (Webster)

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘As Slow As Possible’

Travis:

‘As Slow As Possible’ is a documentary by filmmaker Scott Smith. It follows Ryan Knighton as he embarks on a journey to Halberstadt, Germany to experience the first change of notes from an automated organ programmed to play the 639 year long performance of modern composer John Cage’s As Slow As Possible. This composition was created with the intention of every note lasting as long as possible, creating a piece of music that would last the approximate length of the instrument’s lifespan.

However, the film is not about the music. This is the story of Ryan Knighton, a man who at the age of eighteen was told rather bluntly that he would slowly go blind as a result of a rare disease called retinitis pigmentosa. ‘As Slow As Possible’ picks up Knighton’s life 15 years later as he journeys to an old monastery in what was formerly East Germany to witness the first hand-changed note in the epically long organ performance. Knighton interprets the composition as it is being presents as a sort of metaphor for what he is experiencing in the gradual loss of his sight. He speaks about how his vision is escaping him a little at a time, drawing out the inevitable. Knighton explains how currently his vision consists of only a mere pinhole worth of light is viewable in only one eye. He confesses at one point that he would prefer his vision be gone completely that having this “umbilical cord” that keeps him tethered to the past.

‘As Slow As Possible’ is a story of letting go to something we as humans hold dear, and the emotional roller coaster to goes with that process of accepting something we cannot change. In equal doses, the film is personally reflective and  candidly humorous. Knighton meets several people on his journey, some who empathize with him and offer their open hearts and assistance, others who actually question whether he is truly blind. The scene of Ryan discussing his blindness with a young woman who doubts his blindness is both fascinating and frustrating at the same time. She becomes a textbook example of people whose ignorance blinds their ability to be compassionate.

The journey we take with Ryan Knighton is an enlightening one. As he is led into  the monastery by a small boy who offered his assistance, Knighton breaks down in tears in the presence of his destination achieved. At first, the reality of the situation is overwhelming but he soon embraces the organ and its voice with full acceptance and amazement. As an audience, we are taken as passengers by Knighton, allowed to experience his journey with him as he tells us his story and then we are allowed to experience his pay off, a mixed array of emotions from a metaphorical connection to something beautiful. [Overall:  4 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Saturday, November 22 @ 5:30pm (Tivoli)

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’

Ram Man:

This is the most unique look at the genocide that went on in Nazi Germany during World War II. Mark Herman’s new film ‘The Boy In The Striped Pajamas’ looks at the war and the holocaust through the eyes of an innocent 8 year old German boy named Bruno. Herman adapted his screenplay from the John Boyne novel of the same name.

The story begins with Bruno’s father (David Thewlis of the Harry Potter series), an SS officer in Hitlers army, excepting a promotion and informing the family they are moving out of Berlin. Bruno is opposed to the move and doesn’t want to leave his friends. His mother (Vera Farmigia from the Departed) does the best job she can selling the country and tells Bruno he will have lots of friends there. Bruno’s twelve year old sister is fine once they arrive at the Country house and spots a young German officer she can flirt with.

We soon learn Bruno’s father’s promotion is to be commandant of a concentration camp a few kilometers from the house. Bruno , starving for companionship, begins to explore the house and it’s surroundings. He spies, what he refers to as a farm, out his window. Bruno asks his mother why are all the farmers wearing pajamas? Just as his mother begins to answer him one of the workers from the camp brings in fresh vegetables from the garden. She then simply answers “I don’t know”. Bruno’s mother is infuriated with her husband for deceiving her and the kids by landing them within earshot and smell of the camp. Bruno, bored out of his mind, goes against his parents wishes and explores the back yard and finds himself at the fence of the farm.

Bruno finds another boy inside the farm the same age as him. His name is Smuel. Bruno responds “I’ve never heard of anyone called Shmuel..” and Shmuel responds “I’ve never heard of anyone called Bruno”. The two boys hit it of and start up a limited friendship. Limited by an electric fence that separates them. Bruno then begins daily visits to play and talk to Shmuel. Bruno would bring him food and a checkers game so that they could play at their picnic. The two exchange details of their lives and their families. These two boys are able to look at each other instead of just seeing ethnicity or politics. Bruno does ask Shmuel “Why are you in there?” Shmuel replies “I’m a Jew”. As far as Bruno knew this was his first encounter with a Jewish person and he didn’t believe everything he heard others say about them. He liked Shmuel, he was his friend.

We have had numerous films that deal with the touchy subject of the Holocaust. This is the first film that actually tells it in a way that can be seen by the whole family and can serve to educate the children of today about a black spot in human history.   ‘The Boy In The Striped Pajamas’ will have your heart racing in the end of the film. I can’t tell you why, but it is culmination of this fantastic film.   Mark Herman also braves to take the view inside one of the gas chambers to show the final moments many faced at one of these camps. ‘The Boy In The Striped Pajamas’ was a wonderful film that I recommend to everyone. Parents , if your kids are ten or older, take them to see this film. It will educate them. I have a feeling when the DVD is out they will be watching it in history class at school. [Overall: 4 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Sunday, November 16 @ 12:00 noon (St Louis Art Museum)

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Mil Mascaras: Resurrection’

Jeremy:

Hey, you got your Aztec mummy movie in my Lucha film! Â  No, you got your Lucha film in my Aztec mummy movie! Â  With ‘Mil Mascaras: Resurrection’, two of the most famous series in the classic age of Mexican horror films converge.

The sport of Lucha Libre professional wrestling became so popular in the ’40s and ’50s that a genre of Luchador films was spawned. Â  Beginning in 1952, Luchador films ran roughshod throughout the ’50s, ’60s’, and even into the ’70s. Â  Mil Mascaras (A Thousand Masks) was the first lucha libre wrestler to be created specifically for this genre of films. Â  With ‘Mil Mascaras: Resurrection’, he makes his 18th feature film appearance.

This time around, Mascaras must contend with the evil Aztec Mummy, but the story isn’t quite that simple. Â  In fact, it’s downright excruciating how complex this film eventually gets. Â  There’s a human-sized robot, a couple of vampire women, and all of the great living lucha stars under one mind-numbingly kitschy roof. Â  Somewhere in there Harley Race and PJ Soles pop up for a split second or two.

‘Mil Mascaras: Resurrection’ is the kind of film that one can pretty much only enjoy when they are sitting around with a bunch of friends. Â  It’s difficult to enjoy the film for what it is, because the production values here are so low. Â  There is one point where one of the mummy’s henchmen transforms his appearance. Â  The transformation effects in 1940s, Universal horror films were pulled off better than this. Â  The mummy looks like a reject from a half-completed, haunted house. Â  For an example of this only better, see Frank Langella’s getup as Skeletor in the 1987 version of ‘Masters of the Universe’.

This is to say nothing of the outfits adorned by the actual wrestlers. Â  I’m sure most of those costumes were brought to the set by the wrestlers, themselves. Â  Mascaras himself seems to be wearing as much in robes and tights as the rest of the budget times two. Â  The Aztec Mummy has a giant scepter with a blue jewel on top, and it looks suspiciously like a glued on ring pop. Â  I’m thinking blue raspberry from the looks of it.

The acting involved is painfully dreadful. Â  Just about everyone seems to have been getting line readings between takes. Â  It doesn’t help that Mascaras is clearly speaking Spanish with a dubbed English voiceover. Â  It’s just hilarious to see people respond in perfect English to this.

But, do we really see ‘Mil Mascaras: Resurrection’ for its high quality effects and Shakespearean acting?

Hell no!

We see it for the wrestling and the craziness and the unintelligible fight scenes that make Mighty Morphin Power Rangers look like UFC. Â  That’s why we see ‘Mil Mascaras: Resurrection’.

So be warned. Â  There is some fun to be had in watching this film. Â  Unfortunately, you probably won’t be doing that on your own. Â  You’ll be doing it with your buddies at around midnight howling with laughter at all the low-budget absurdity that is playing out before you. Â  ‘Mil Mascaras: Resurrection is a film that definitely falls under the category of “so bad it’s good”. [Overall: 3 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Friday, November 21 @ 11:15 pm (Tivoli)

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘From Inside’

Jeremy:

A young, pregnant woman sits on a train, surrounded by passengers yet utterly alone. Â  The train moves through a landscape both barren and surreal. Â  It’s years after an event has destroyed civilization as we know it. Â  The people on the train move with the train, unaware of where their carriage is taking them. Â  The young woman, Cee, watches the passengers, contemplates her life as it is, and waits for her baby to be born into this world.

John Bergin’s animated film, ‘From Inside’, is based on his 1994 graphic novel of the same name. Â  The film is as bleak and surreal as it is beautiful. Â  Every shot of the film is stunning, and it uses the animation provided to the best of its capabilities. Â  Whether we are shown such macabre sights as oceans of blood, train cars turned into slaughterhouses, or people succumbing to a mysterious plague, Bergin’s visuals drive the film’s narrative with a spectacular sense of splendor. Â  Literally every shot captured within ‘From Inside’ could be framed and hung on a wall. Â  It is that beautiful of a film.

It is also a film that could not have captured the same sense of surrealism or eeriness had it been shot live action. Â  I cannot attest to how close to Bergin’s original graphic novel the visuals are. Â  The way the objects and characters move within the film indicate many of the visuals were lifted verbatim. Â  Most of the time the characters are shown unmoving while the shot moves around them, as if we are looking at different parts of a page.

The same goes with the objects, the train in particular, and the way it moves throughout its surroundings. Â  The compositions of Bergin’s shots, particularly those dealing with the train cutting through the landscape, are impeccable.

The story ‘From Inside’ tells is equally radiant. Â  It’s a story of hope and wonder in a world where death and decay are overpowering forces. Â  We hear Cee’s thoughts through a voiceover by Corryn Cummins. Â  She narrates us through the events that play out, through the strange dreams she has in her journey, and around the odd characters she meets and deals with. Â  Cummins voice was the perfect choice. Â  It is rather childlike in its own right, yet full of a forcefulness that tells us Cee will defend herself by any means necessary. Â  Cee’s is the only voice we hear throughout the film, but it never even teases with becoming tedious or numbing.

The only time the film, itself, becomes tedious is in the final moments. Â  I won’t give anything away, but the film reaches its natural end long before the actual film ends. Â  There is a moment where Cee’s sense of hope reaches its peak, where she, herself, comments on the hope she has for the future.

Had Bergin ended the film on that note, it would have very nearly been a perfect story. Â  However, he feels he needs to give some sense of closure that is simply not needed in a story such as this. Â  When something such as hope is a driving force in your film, the need to show closure seems to take that hope away by flat out telling us what does or does not happen.

‘From Inside’ is a visually stunning film that is a must-see.   It shows how great animation can drive a story and how a story can be realized perfectly through the use of superbly crafted animation.  [Overall: 4.75 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Sunday, November 23 @ 3:30 pm (Tivoli)

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Let the Right One In’

Travis:

Move over ‘Lost Boys’… you’re no longer the coolest under-aged vampires. Kiefer and the two Coreys have nothing on Eli! Director Tomas Alfredson has created a masterpiece of eerie vampire drama. ‘Let the Right One In’ is a tale about two young people who create a strong bond out of abnormal conditions. Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a 12 year old boy without any friends in the snow-laden winter of Sweden. Oskar is bullied by a gang of three kids on a daily basis, but he does not fight back. Oskar does however yearn for revenge, but can only muster the courage to retaliate in his imagination while by himself.

Oskar first meets Eli (Lina Leandersson) one night outside his apartment building while imagining how his revenge would play out. At first, Eli is stand-offish, but as the two continue to meet in the dark of night they begin to talk and become friendly. Oskar soon finds himself falling in love with Eli, but she is wise beyond her years and is careful not to toy with Oskar’s emotions. Eli lives in the unit next to his with her guardian, but it’s not entirely clear who this man is at first. When her adult companion’s luck runs out, Eli becomes even closer to Oskar and the truth about her and Eli and her past begins to unfold as delicately as a flower blooms for the first time. The film is so brilliantly written and the young actors are marvelous. In particular, Leandersson gives a phenomenal performance as the strange and quiet nomadic girl who only comes out at night.

‘Let the Right One In’ opens by introducing us to Oskar as he imagines forcing his bullies to “scream like a pig” before he exacts his revenge, followed an introduction to Eli’s guardian as he harvests a meal from a local man. These scene is set amidst a grove of birch trees in the snow, creating a bleak and beautiful landscape like that of an Ansel Adams photograph. The mood is important to the story because for Oskar and Eli, all they have is each other. We get to know our two young characters fairly well before they become closely entangled in each other’s lives. Oskar has become relatively numb on the outside to his being repeatedly bullied, but refuses to tell anyone its happening. Eli finds herself slowly starving as her guardian is finding it more difficult to successfully harvest meals for her. One night she can no longer stand the hunger pains and we witness her kill for the first time and it is an eerie and frightening scene, even though we can see it coming. Leandersson convincingly portrays a girl whose entire existence is in contradiction. She is quiet and reserved until she feeds, when she becomes a raging killing machine. She appears to be young, but she exudes a wisdom and calmness that only comes from experience.

The cinematography is fitting but the score truly accentuates the look and feel of the film, often quiet but always powerful in its subtlety. Special effects really isn’t the term I would prefer to use when describing the scenes of Eli displaying her inhuman traits. Low key but highly effective, these scenes offer just enough of a glimpse of her abilities to reassure us of what she is and freak us out just enough to stay on edge. Nothing in the movie is overdone and the story becomes one of a life that continues beyond death in a recurring cycle of mutually beneficial relationships. ‘Let the Right One In’ is filmed in Swedish with English subtitles. For those of you scared off by this, please set that fear aside. The dialogue in this movie is somewhat sparse, but the language of great acting is at play in full force and that’s a language we all speak. You are truly missing one of the best films of the year (at least) by not seeing ‘Let the Right One In’. [Overall: 5 stars out of 5!]

Ram Man:

The foreign film industry has come a long way over the years. They are now becoming more mainstream and you find yourself almost ignoring the subtitles and just able to watch the film and understand the characters and what they are going through. A perfect example of this is Tomas Alfredson’s ‘Let The Right One In’. The ‘Right One’ is an adolescent vampire movie more along the lines of Romeo and Juliet than Dracula.

‘Let The Right One In’ tells the story of Oskar, a Swedish boy and a loner, who is bullied at school and has no friends. That is, until a mysterious girl named Eli moves in next door. Oskar who dreams of standing up to his foes at school  wielding a knife in his empty room telling the bullies to “squeal like a pig”. I guess he has seen ‘Deliverence’. One evening Eli appears on the jungle gym   to Oskar’s amazement. the two strike up a conversation that quickly leads to a close friendship. Eli not wanting to hurt her friend tells Oskar her dark secret as he begins to unravel her mystery, she is a vampire. She tells Oskar she is 12 years old and has been for a very long time.

This doesn’t phase Oskar, who is able to look past the issue of blood sucking and just see the girl he cares about. The picture painted of a very dark and cold Sweden adds to the enjoyment of this film. Eli’s attacks are like that of a rabid dog, leaping on the victim and going for the jugular.   Another aspect of the film that I really liked was that it was not predictable and the good guys always win in the end. Make sure to find out when this is showing in your local theater and check it out. It is destined to become a classic among horror films.   Let The Right One In is scheduled to be shown during the S.L.I.F.F.   at the Frontenac Theater Saturday Nov. 15th at 9:30 pm. Don’t miss it! [Overall: 4.25 stars out of 5]

Jeremy:

Hyperbole aside, the Swedish film ‘Let the Right One In’ may be the best vampire movie ever. Â  It is definitely the best since ‘Nosferatu’ came out over 80 years ago, but it may even surpass that classic film. Â  It’s smart, funny, scary, everything that makes a horror film an instant classic.

Based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist who also adapted the screenplay, ‘Let the Right One In’ tells the story of Oskar (Kare Hedebrant), an unfortunate 12-year-old. Â  His parents are divorced, he is basically an outcast at school, and he is continuously picked on, violently at times, by bullies. Â  Oskar dreams of taking up arms and fighting back against the bullies, but he never does. Â  One night, while out in the courtyard of the apartment complex where he and his mother stay, Oskar meets Eli (Lina Leandersson), a young girl who has recently moved into the apartment next to Oskar’s. Â  Eli is not like other girls. Â  She is, in fact, an age-old vampire who is forever trapped in the body of a 12-year-old. Â  Oskar and Eli quickly form a strong closeness. Â  She offers him the strength he finds within himself to finally stand up for himself, and he offers her a friendship she hasn’t felt in years.

Per Ragnar plays Hakan, Eli’s caretaker, who routinely goes out in the middle of the night to drain people of their blood. Â  The film deals, too, with his relationship with Eli. Â  He acts somewhat as a father figure, but you feel that there is a deeper bond between them that goes back long before the film starts. Â  This also gives you a sense of where the story is headed.

Vampire films are a dime a dozen. Â  The shelves of Blockbuster are stacked with cheap, vampire flicks that generally are filled with fake teeth and wall-to-wall gore. Â  It’s rare to find something original and breathtaking in a vampire movie, but we have all of that here in droves.

‘Let the Right One In’ is a film that would have worked perfectly as a coming of age story. Â  Had it just dealt with these two kids and the relationship they form, it still would have been a beautiful story. Â  The fact that Eli is a vampire is a driving force that branches the typical, coming of age story off into another direction, and it opens so many doors that previously have not been addressed.

Tomas Alfredson acts as director and his camer work is magnificent. Â  There are exquisitely framed shots that reveal so much yet not too much. Â  Much of what he shows is just enough for us to get an idea of the things that are happening, but our minds fill in the details. Â  ‘Let the Right One In’ is not a gory film, per se. Â  There are several instances of blood, but, like so many classic horror films like ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Halloween’, the most horrifying parts of the violence in ‘Let the Right On In’ are what is left to the imagination.

Alfredson handles the special effect in the film incredibly, as well. Â  Most of the effects are practical, but there are a few occurrences of CGI effect that enhance what is shown. Â  Some of these uses of CGI go unnoticed. Â  When we first see Eli, she is standing on top of a jungle gym. Â  She jumps down as she is talking with Oskar, and the way she falls to the ground gives the impression that her body is slowing, almost gliding gently to the ground. Â  It’s such a small change in speed that it may not register, but it’s there.

Later on, Eli and Oskar enter a darkened room, and her eyes are seen glowing. Â  It’s not a bright, neon yellow, but a glow, nonetheless. Â  It’s just enough for you to turn to the person sitting next to you and say, “Did you see that?”

There is one scene, one occasion where the CGI is not used very well. Â  It involves a number of cats, and it is pretty obvious CG. Â  This is the only complaint found in the entirety of the film.

The child actors involved in the film are also unbelievable. Â  Hedebrant as Oskar is such a realistic child, yet he performs the part very well. Â  Lina Leandersson is not a particularly pretty girl, but that is a good thing. Â  She, too, gives the part a realistic feel, and the sweetness she puts behind her part is undeniable. Â  I’m sure when the Hollywood remake comes out, these two parts will be rewritten for pretty people, and that is a shame.

I won’t rant about the absurdity of Hollywood remaking ‘Let the Right One In’. Â  I’ll just say it is a horrid idea, and it’s insulting that Hollywood studios don’t think people are smart enough to enjoy foreign films.

‘Let the Right One In’ is an incredible film, an engrossing story about the darkness within two children and the life-altering wave of events that comes from their bond. Â  It is a horror film about a vampire, but it’s also a coming of age tale about a lonely boy and the strange friend he makes. Â  It’s the kind of film that launches a wave of second-rate knockoffs. Â  It’s convenient that ‘Let the Right One In’ screened at the St. Louis International Film Festival the week before ‘Twilight’ comes out. Â  Not having seen ‘Twilight’, I can’t fully say if it is any good or not, but there is no way it can compare to the astonishing work that was put into ‘Let the Right One In’. Â  If I am allowed a pun, this film puts the stake into all other vampire films, period. [Overall: 5 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Saturday, November 15 @ 9:30pm (Frontenac)

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘My Mothers Garden’

Travis:

‘My Mothers Garden’ is a documentary by Cynthia Lester, a young woman who decided to document her efforts to help her mother. The film follows Cynthia to California as she and her two brothers attempt to help save her mother, Eugenia Lester, from losing her house. Eugenia, a Polish-American immigrant, suffers from a disease called Hoarding Disorder. This condition manifests itself as an uncontrollable need to collect and keep everything. In the film, it is said that a person with Hoarding Disorder cannot part with any of their stuff because it would be like parting with a piece of themselves. This becomes painfully clear as we witness Eugenia’s struggle with her community over her habits and her even more difficult struggle with letting go of her stuff. Cynthia was contacted by the city authorities, who stated that if she doesn’t get help with the growing “issue” that her neighbors are complaining about they will take her home away.

Cynthia and her two brothers are sympathetic at first to their mother’s plight, but realize they must clean the place up or else witness their mother become homeless. They make every effort to help Eugenia clean the house, but this reality proves far more difficult for Eugenia than her children had imagined. Cynthia finally decides it will be best if she takes her mother back to New York with her while her two brothers clean the house without Eugenia’s constant interruptions and objections. Almost immediately, this proves to be a positive step for Eugenia as she quickly becomes more joyful spending time with her daughter and experiencing New York again after having been away for many years. However, the stress and withdrawal of being away from her house begin to surface again and lead to her return to California.

Eugenia suffers her worst breakdown upon returning to her now clean and organized home. Her two sons have done an extraordinary job, clearing mounds of unsorted garbage bags from the yard and clearing the house which had been stuffed so full of what most would call junk, that one could not enter through the front door. It had gotten to the point that Eugenia had to crawl in and out of her house through a window, and the stuff had piled up throughout the house so that one could not see or walk on the floor. As an audience, we can clearly see and relate to Cynthia and her brothers’ efforts to help their mother. Eugenia’s living conditions were terrible and the house had become unsafe to live in. The refrigerator was filled with rotten food and they found dead rats and feces everywhere as they cleaned. At the same time, we also feel empathy for Eugenia who truly feels she’s being wronged by those who oppose her lifestyle.

In the end, we a re rewarded by the fact that Eugenia is getting better. She no longer lives at home, but is doing well in a nursing home where she has found a new way to focus herself and not get overwhelmed with the urge to collect and hoard things. ‘My Mothers Garden’ is a touching story that at times really pulls at the heart strings. Eugenia is a wonderfully beautiful human being with a kind heart that suffers from a condition that keeps others from seeing her warmth. While the film is made by her daughter, it actually adds another level of depth to the story. The film isn’t rooted in finding a cure or fighting some injustice. Instead, the film is an honest and and revealing portrait of a fascinating woman. [Overall: 4 stars out of 5]

Festival Screening Date: Saturday, November 15 @ 7:30pm (Webster U.)

17th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival, Nov. 13-23

It’s that time of year again, and We Are Movie Geeks are here to help you organize all the film festival goodness that is to be had at the 17th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF). The festivities kick off Thursday night with a screening of ‘Humboldt County‘ at 7pm at the Tivoli Theatre, with a reception preceding from 5:30-7:00pm, followed by an after-party.

Co-directors, and former St. Louisans, Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs will be on hand for a post-screening Q&A. We Are Movie Geeks will be helping you with your homework for the next week leading up to the festival, providing reviews of the films scheduled to screen from November 13-23 to help you decide which films to hit and which ones you might want to miss.

The fun continues Friday night with a screening of ‘Adam Resurrected‘ by renowned filmmaker Paul Schrader, coinciding with his receipt of the Lifetime Achievement Award. To read more about all  the films, festivities and special events, or to check the schedule  and purchase tickets, check out the website here.

S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘My Mothers Garden’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Let the Right One In’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘From Inside’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Mil Mascarras: Resurrection’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘As Slow As Possible’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Empire State Building Murders’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Special’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Number One With a Bullet’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Bex X’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Unknown Woman’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Alone’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Kassim the Dream’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Yeast’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Yesterday Was a Lie’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Heartbeat Detector’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Son of a Lion’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Mosquito Kingdom’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Half-Life’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Strength and Honour’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Shadowland’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Carny’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Not by Chance’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Last Lullaby’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘The Objective’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Remarkable Power!’
S.L.I.F.F. Review: ‘Chasing Birds’