The Movie...Let the Right One In
SPOILERS GALORE….Only Continue Reading if You’ve Already Enjoyed the Film!! The movie’s great and if you’re a fan of foreign, horror, coming of age, or vampires, I suggest you check it out.
But what bothered me was the unstated, though very present, undercurrents of sexuality related to a 12-year-old vampire. There is a shot in the film that shows a close up of Eli’s frontal, unpantied body. NUDITY IN A 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL? REALLY? Is that ever appropriate, except if we’re catering to degenerates? Though I didn’t recognize it as such, one of my NFriends thought the shot shows a scar. Twice during the film, Eli says that she is not a girl and her comments might be referring to the fact that she’s dead. But is that true?
We know Eli is old, surely too old to have gone through any type of surgery while she was alive for a sex change or intersexual condition. But if it is indeed a scar, that’s where the package would have been. ALSO THERE’S THE ISSUE OF HER “FATHER,” who can’t possibly be, because he isn’t old enough. So, was he selected when he too was 11 years old? As a grown man, are we to assume that their relationship is platonic or paternal? If Oskar is the chosen “father” replacement, will she become his girlfriend as he grows older? Though her body is 12, this girl has been around for a while and I think there is another aspect to this story that is only hinted at.
Ok, the sexual parts of this speculation are icky, but as many people have already mentioned, this is a dark story and I’m interested in what the filmmakers were striving for…because I don’t believe a story of this nature (12-year-old-vicious-monster-when-she-needs-to-be) would not dare to tread on such slippery, possibly tabooed, slopes. Or maybe I’m the degenerate, seeing sexual situations where none exist. Even if it’s to tell me I’m full of crap, what do YOU think?
But what bothered me was the unstated, though very present, undercurrents of sexuality related to a 12-year-old vampire. There is a shot in the film that shows a close up of Eli’s frontal, unpantied body. NUDITY IN A 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL? REALLY? Is that ever appropriate, except if we’re catering to degenerates? Though I didn’t recognize it as such, one of my NFriends thought the shot shows a scar. Twice during the film, Eli says that she is not a girl and her comments might be referring to the fact that she’s dead. But is that true?
We know Eli is old, surely too old to have gone through any type of surgery while she was alive for a sex change or intersexual condition. But if it is indeed a scar, that’s where the package would have been. ALSO THERE’S THE ISSUE OF HER “FATHER,” who can’t possibly be, because he isn’t old enough. So, was he selected when he too was 11 years old? As a grown man, are we to assume that their relationship is platonic or paternal? If Oskar is the chosen “father” replacement, will she become his girlfriend as he grows older? Though her body is 12, this girl has been around for a while and I think there is another aspect to this story that is only hinted at.
Ok, the sexual parts of this speculation are icky, but as many people have already mentioned, this is a dark story and I’m interested in what the filmmakers were striving for…because I don’t believe a story of this nature (12-year-old-vicious-monster-when-she-needs-to-be) would not dare to tread on such slippery, possibly tabooed, slopes. Or maybe I’m the degenerate, seeing sexual situations where none exist. Even if it’s to tell me I’m full of crap, what do YOU think?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by The Continental on -
Did the naked little girl or the young girl/old guy thing work for you?
How dare you? Everybody and their sister will vouch that the Continental targets Adults only.
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Permalink Reply by The Continental on
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Look here , (this is my take) the old guy was with the Vampire since he was a kid , like the Oskar character at the End of the flick, the Vampire latched onto him and he was sort of the vamp's care taker, he'd go out and collect the Meals for the Vamp, so much safer of a life style for the little vamp that way,, less exposer to getting caught , so the ol guys about wore out used up and he's making mistakes , and she the" Vampire" could sense that,and latched onto Oskar for her new Reinfield.
I have not read this entire thread ,but I'm sure others got a similar view of the film.
I guess the only way, a person could construe a child porn perverted molesting angle is if thats what they go looking for.
It was clear to me early on in the movie the Vampire was not a little girl, but seriously that just fricken silly to take that angle seriously..
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Permalink Reply by Donna Loves Movies on -
Read the thread.
Turns out the movie tried to incorporate some of the book that dealt with the sexual aspects without giving us enough info to make sense of it.... which was why I started this thread. If there wasn't a sexual line to the story, why the crotch shot?
This thread has been useful to me because it's revealed that most viewers didn't catch those hints and they certainly don't want to explore them. Can't blame anyone, it was an icky turn.
I'm not a believer that movies need to follow the novel, but as Johnny from page one suggests, the movie version would have benefited by leaving the scar issue completely out. It didn't add to the film and personally, it confused the crap out of me.
For any readers out there, the book is fascinating!
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Permalink Reply by The Continental on
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I read it , it's hilarious.
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Permalink Reply by The Continental on
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If there wasn't a sexual line to the story, why the crotch shot?
Here's what I got from the " "{Shot}"" you bring up again above, when I watched this flick ,,whats it been a month ago now( movies under the bridge) ,, but this one was good thats why i remember it at all,, they flashed this shot and I thought to my self this is an a-sexual being, meaning no sexed creature. Now I've gone and thought about it more than I did when I watched the movie! Anyhow thanks for bringing this discussion up.Wondering if the book's available on audio cassette?
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Permalink Reply by Angela on -
I'm with the Continental, here I really loved this movie. I too was a bit shocked by the frontal shot, but I didn't dwell on it much as I chalked it up to Oskar's curiosity and nothing more. As far as the scar goes, I'm not sure as it was such a quick flash and I felt no desire to skip back, pause, and inspect it further....that would be weird, in my opinion. I felt their relationship was more emotional and not so much sexual, and thought it was done well that way for the "woman" inside Eli would understand that Oskar was not ready for anything more. In the end I was impressed with everything else the film accomplished to read too much into that one, small part of the film. I've not read the book either, and the only complaint I had was a lack of history on Eli, so it would have been nice to see that in there.
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Permalink Reply by Johnny on -
The FAQ at IMDB, which heapshake mentioned, answers most of the common questions, including the back story from the book, which clears up some issues that were not obvious in the movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/faq
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Permalink Reply by Johnny on
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Eli's "papa" Hakan had been a teacher who had molested children. Eli took him on after he couldn't teach any more. That was only a few years ago. Presumably Eli has had many such "partners", leading to the question if Oskar is going to take Hakan's place, killing for Eli.
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Permalink Reply by Mark Zajac on -
According to IMDB, Lina Leandersson (Eli) was born in 1995 which makes her just 12 years old. The full frontal nudity of a twelve-year-old actress is simply unacceptable, regardless of whether it serves the plot and no matter the age the character portrayed. There are no redeeming qualities or extenuating circumstances that can make a "good" movie from child pornography. It can't be "OK except for..." it's just simply unacceptable -- an abomination!
[:-)] Mark
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Permalink Reply by thatboy on -
That's a ridiculous assertion. Nudity and pornography are two very different things.
Children have bodies. Children are sometimes naked. Deny it all you want, but it's true. Showing a naked child in a film or artwork is not 'simply unacceptable' nor is it necessarily 'child pornography' unless it's done in a prurient way. The nudity in LTROI in no way crosses any line of that sort and is perfectly acceptable.
I'll tell you what is an abomination: An adult who can't see a naked child without thinking about sex.
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