DVD Alert: 'Let The Right One In'

Lina Leandersson plays a young stranger in Let the Right One In, a Swedish vampire film. Watch the trailer: http://www.lettherightoneinmovie.com/

I missed this movie in the theater because it never came near us. The reviews were very good and some critics put it on their Top Ten lists of 2008. I requested it as a birthday gift from my son when I saw it on sale. I love films and books about vampires so this one is a must for other fans. It's creepy, atmospheric, and full of surprises with enough gore to satisfy those expecting it in this kind of story. It's based on a novel that I need to find and its author wrote the screenplay.
Let The Right One In is a Swedish film and no it's not directed by Ingmar Bergman whose films are featured here. (You'll see more entries about them since I got an early request for Father's Day of another boxed set on sale but I'll wait until then to watch them.) However there are some Bergman touches here but what Swedish director wouldn't be influenced by The Master.
The title refers to vampire mythology in which a vampire can only be invited into your home. A timid twelve-year-old boy is the target of school bullies. A strange girl about his age moves next door and they become friends. We soon learn she's a vampire and teaches him to fight back while she seeks blood. Soon there's a lot of killings around town as he hides her secret. How much of an accomplice will he become and how much of a protector she is to him is what you will learn. And watch out for those cats!
For some reason the story takes place in 1982 but it seems like it's happening now. The eerie Nordic winter light of daytime scenes and the whiteness of the blanketing snow is a sharp contrast to the blood soaked killings and violence. The trailer here gives you a pretty good idea of the moody settings. The DVD provides a dubbed English soundtrack if you don't want to read subtitles and listen to Swedish. A remake is in the works but I doubt it will improve on this film.

DVD Alert: 'Smiles of a Summer Night'

Ok back to Bergman and this one's a comedy. As I mentioned he made a few and 1955's Smiles of a Summer Night is important for a few reasons. His earlier films weren't big hits in Sweden and his producer wanted one or his contract would be canceled. His troubling lovelife also led him to depression so he decided to write a comedy. And what a comedy! This film became an international success that established his reputation and allowed him complete freedom in selecting his future projects. He followed this one with The Seventh Seal and other great films.
This is one of the wittiest comedies ever made and full of sly humor and sight gags. The plot evolves around four mismatched couples in 1901 Sweden. An older man hasn't consummated his marriage to a younger woman and seeks advice from his former mistress, an actress. His son is unlucky in his pursuit of their sexy maid. A countess wants to win back her husband's love but he's involved with the actress who decides to fix their problems when she invites everyone to a party at her mother's estate. As if all this isn't complicated enough, their problems become more convoluted but things do work out well for everyone but not as you or they expect in this Battle of the Sexes.
This Criterion edition is another winner but no with English dubbed soundtrack. There's not a lot of subtitles and they are amusing. Combining them with the players' expressions makes for an enjoyable romp. You don't get comedies as classy and stylish as this one so enjoy a glass of good wine while you savor the humor and period decor. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, Woody Allen, a huge Bergman fan, used Smiles as the basis for his A Midsummer's Sex Comedy. Here's a trailer that gives you an idea of the plot but it's nowhere as rewarding as watching the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suMQZRAOivo

DVD Alert: 'Zack & Miri Make a Porno'

OK this wasn't Ingmar Bergman... lol I'm no film snob. I'll give any movie a fair try. For starters I didn't buy or rent this movie. My son bought it and I read some decent reviews of it so we decided to watch this comedy instead of more typical Bergman Nordic doom & gloom. Actually Bergman has made a few comedies but that's for a later review. Anyway let's talk about this opus from director Kevin Smith.
Smith has made offbeat crude comedies and one nice movie called Jersey Girl with Ben Afleck. Dogma angered churchgoers and is worth a view. Zack & Miri combines the best and worst traits of them. The sex jokes are his usual infantile brand that provoke more smiles than belly laughs. The premise here is about two friends of the opposite sex from high school and who live together in a dumpy apartment. Faced with utility shutoffs and eviction, they decide to earn needed money by making a porn flick. That's easier said than done as they team up with some oddball characters to create their opus. Along the way the main characters learn they really love each other and want to bring their friendship to a higher level. But you can see this coming too early in the plot.
How much porn is here? Not much since the movie has a 'R' rating and it's mainly due to the language that makes you cringe or laugh. There's five bad jokes for every single one, possibly more depending on your sensitivity. Seth Rogan is fine as Zack with a sweet side hidden under his potty mouth and Elizabeth Banks, so good as Laura Bush in W, is almost too sweet as Miri and not a role worthy of her but she does win you over. I thought the funniest part was their high school reunion where she hits on Brandon Routh (our recent movie Superman) a former classmate who is revealed to be a gay porn star uncloseted by his lover Justin Long of Die Hard 4 fame. Tracie Lords, a former porn star, is wasted here as with other Smith regulars.
Let's just say the movie's title was more promising than what the plot delivered and the middle section dragged a bit. I can't complain because it cost me nothing to watch this except my time. This was a two disc set but I declined watching the extras.

DVD Alert: 'The Virgin Spring'

Here's another Ingmar Bergman classic that's one of four DVDs in a Criterion Collection boxed set of his best & best known films. (I requested this set as a Valentine Day's gift). This summary explains it better than me: "Inspired by a medieval Swedish ballad, Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukallan) begins with a scene of unspeakable brutality and ends with an image of uncommon beauty. 15-year-old Birgitta Peterson, on her way to church to light candles for the Virgin Mary, is raped and murdered by two older men. The men look for shelter at the home of Birgitta's father (Max Von Sydow), who murders the bestial killers in cold blood. When the deed is done, Von Sydow, a deeply religious man, begins to question the efficacy of a God that would allow his daughter's death, then permit so bloody a retribution. Then, a fresh, virgin spring bubbles from the ground where his daughter had been lying a few moments before. Taking this natural phenonenon as a sign from above, Von Sydow vows to erect a church on the spot where Birgitta met her doom. The winner of 1960's"best foreign picture" Academy Award, The Virgin Spring currently exists in several versions of varying lengths; the longest, and most graphic, is the original Swedish cut. Believe it or not, this hauntingly beautiful film served as the basis of The Last House on the Left (1972). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide'
At the time of The Virgin Spring's theatrical release here, the rape scene was edited but this edition features the uncut film and is mild compared to recent films. Like in Bergman's The Seventh Seal that's been written about here, all the details of medieval life are presented as you can imagine that period. As you watch this scene leading up to the rape, you can see how a master director works. There's the trademark Bergman usage of spacing actors in different parts of the frame for heightened dramatic effect and of closeups with facial expressions that telegraph thoughts. His silent and suspenseful building of immanent danger without the Hollywood musical bombastic warning is truly frightening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdMbnRquuKI The frog inside the bread was intentionally placed there by the daughter's jealous servant who you see watching the action from the distance.
As usual the Criterion extras are topnotch and there's an English soundtrack that won't scare away those who hate to read subtitles. The scholarly audio commentary is informative as I learned that this film was not well received by Bergman critics who thought he was copying himself. I totally disagree with them. This film stands up on its own and is unforgetable.