Låt den Rätte Komma In

   Let the Right One In.

Had a “horror” movie “marathon” tonight. “Horror”, because it wasn’t that scary; and “marathon” because we only ended up watching one movie. (We played Cluedo instead of watching Psycho or Ju-on (The Grudge).)

I remember thinking “Strangest movie ever!” a number of times during the first half of the movie, but I can’t really pick out what made the movie so odd. I think it was a combination of, among other things, my lack of familiarity with Swedish cinema, a gender ambiguous cast of boys, my inability to discriminate characters, and the funny hairdos. There was also this one other thing that was quite strange, but I can’t really elaborate on this without revealing the plot to you.

The movie is rather long (just under 2 hours) and the beginning is very slow paced. I definitely enjoyed the latter stages a lot more the than earlier ones. I am also quite welcoming to the idea of a Horror-Romance. Although, as I alluded to in the opening, the movie isn’t that scary. I don’t think it is AT ALL scary. But the romance develops steadily and isn’t overplayed - like all most Hollywood films these days. I actually really like the connection shared between Oskar and Eli. It is fragile, honest, and very different to what we would be used to seeing on screen.

Not the best choice for a horror movie marathon, but an interesting watch.

A Lone Scalpel

   Japanese Film Festival, Sydney screening.

The Festival is currently in Melbourne until Thursday the 7th of December. There are also a couple of films screening in Hobart the following week. Check here for the schedule.

I saw A Lone Scalpel while it was in Sydney about a week ago and I quite enjoyed it. Set in a small town hospital and told in flashbacks through the diary entries of a nurse, the complication arises due to medical practice laws on organ transplants. The story is told very well. This is definitely the strongest feature of the movie for me. Following the journey of the characters is easy and occurs very naturally.

The characters are very standard. There’s the main character - the nurse; the hero that (very loosely speaking) changes everything; the clown that makes you laugh - the mayor; and of course, the villain that you want to punch in the face. One annoying thing about the movie is how unconditionally benevolent and altruistic the hero is. Difficult decisions are resolved without the slightest hesitation. Really, you’re not even gonna think about it?!

One scene that stuck with me involved a piece of floral printed clothing. I don’t know if it was intentionally humorous (or symbolic?) but my friend and I could not stop laughing.

Overall, a decent film with a good story that is sometimes sad, but very sweet. 3 out of 5.