Eli was/is a castrated boy. They used a girl for the acting but dubbed her voice over in parts with a boy's voice. They wanted to leave her/his gender unclear intentionally.
I haven't seen it yet, psyching myself up to watch it. horror films terrify me but the reviews are just so good!
Oh, that explains it! I wondered if that was the case. Eli said she wasn't a girl a couple of times and asked Oskar if he would still like her if she wasn't a girl. I thought she meant she was a vampire, not a girl. Interesting! I'd like to read the book now.
It wasn't really all that scary to me and I don't like horror movies all that much usually. It's unsettling and disturbing, but it's not that kind of horror movie that makes you jump in your seat.
I'd like to read the book, too. The castration was unclear, so I looked into it after seeing the movie. I loved how atmospheric and beautifully shot the movie was and the two leads were phenomenal. Eli's youth added a poignancy to the story. That scene where they morph her into an old woman was freaky.
That scene where she turned into an old women was the only part that I found actually scary. It really creeped me out.
I agree, the movie was beautifully shot and the setting really made the film. Everything was so clear and cold. It made the film even more unsettling being set in such an unforgiving environment. The kids were really good, too.
I've been reading up on it this morning, too, and I'm very disappointed that it will be remade in the US. I hate remakes and I can't see anything about this film that needs to be changed. I don't even like dubbed films, I think everyone should just suck it up and read the subtitles. /film purist :D
The ending is meant to be tricky. It seems happy at first blush, but then you think about it and realize that basically the boy will end up being just like the older man at the beginning of the film. That's when you realize the film is not happy but tragic...
I agree. The ambiguity of the ending is what pushed it over the edge from good flick to great flick for me. The ending isn't really a happy ending at all. It's sad and disturbing. You're rooting for these two kids and their tenuous friendship because you want Oskar to have someone on his side. You want to see the bullies get what's coming to them (although maybe not pulled limb from limb). But at the same time I'm left feeling like Eli is a master at manipulating people and perhaps planned for Oskar to replace Håkan all along.
Eli's motivations are as unclear as her gender. Amazing film.
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I haven't seen it yet, psyching myself up to watch it. horror films terrify me but the reviews are just so good!
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It wasn't really all that scary to me and I don't like horror movies all that much usually. It's unsettling and disturbing, but it's not that kind of horror movie that makes you jump in your seat.
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I agree, the movie was beautifully shot and the setting really made the film. Everything was so clear and cold. It made the film even more unsettling being set in such an unforgiving environment. The kids were really good, too.
I've been reading up on it this morning, too, and I'm very disappointed that it will be remade in the US. I hate remakes and I can't see anything about this film that needs to be changed. I don't even like dubbed films, I think everyone should just suck it up and read the subtitles. /film purist :D
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Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
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Eli's motivations are as unclear as her gender. Amazing film.
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