Review of Let the Right One In (2008) by Javin M — 01 Aug 2012

A very character and relationship driven drama that is the vampire movie that isn't a vampire movie. A certain air of innocence is subtly but beautifully captured in the characters of Oskar and Eli and the simple but superbly meaningful relationship they share with one another.

The use of interludinal scenery scenes and images immediately following most sections of action and/or dialogue immediately reminded me of the same technique that Makoto Shinkai uses in his animated films such as "Voices of a Distant Star" and "The Place Promised in Our Early Days"; using such scenes intends to view most preceding scenes as though they are sentences, the interludinal scenes of scenery and such serving as the "periods" for these sentences; this then allows the viewer a brief cinematic "reprieve" in order to complete a given thought conveyed in the film.

This film had its graphically violent moments, but they were not overdone, in my opinion. Again, relationship was definitely one of the primary focuses here, as was an alternative view of the world of children, I believe. Both was excellently conveyed in this "vampire film that isn't" :-).