Let the Right One in

America is a grand blank canvas for talented film makers to convey their imagination upon. Venues such as the Sundance & Tribeca film festivals allow great talent to be introduced to the general public mainstream. Unfortunately, some of the most promising talent never truly gets recognized by the American mainstream. This is undeniably apparent in award ceremonies like the Oscars where a movie so artful and beautifully well made can be completely excluded. The movie I am referring to is Låt den rätte komma in, or in English, Let the Right One in.

Let the right one in is the story of Oskar and Eli, young love and their tale of adolescent uncertainty. The story does diverge from the relationship between the two children often, only to enhance or spice the main dish that is their past, present and future. Oskar overcomes relentless bullying on a daily basis. When the sun vanishes he plots his revenge, for he wishes ill of his tormentors. Eli is a strange girl with a voice not as high pitched as one may think a girl her age should be. And she only appears at night. Her past is riddled with sorrow as is Oskar’s present, and in a way they help to heal each others wounds. The story is much too complicated to fully represent in one page, and I’d prefer it if you went to see it yourself. This movie deserves that much. This movie weighs heavily on my mind and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it. Although I didn’t connect exactly to the characters I envied them and pitied them, for their relationship was a bittersweet.

You have to see this movie. The sound was perfect. The pacing was perfect. The acting performances were perfect (Note that I rarely give out perfects). The narrative is one of the most unique ever assembled. I can easily say this is the best modern Swedish film and one of the most positively unforgettable foreign film in years.