The film is close to two hours long. During that time I watched the clock and wondered if anything was going to happen.
Nothing did.
O.k. Maybe that's being harsh. The film is, without doubt, exploring a fascinating avenue: mingling the evil of the occult and death with the innocence of childhood. The occult factor takes the form of Eli - a vampire who lives her life as a twelve year old girl and who is forced to fend for herself in the rather glum suburbs of wintertime Stockholm. She befriends a young child who is bullied at school and leads a rather lonely existence. The film centres on the friendship and the struggles of adolescence, love and being a vampire.
The problem is that the movie attempts to be art-house. It indulges in long, lingering shots with very little occurring. These shots vary between close ups of the characters as they stare at various things, to wide angled shots of snow covered streets. I would like to say that the scenery is beautiful. I would like to ... but I can't. It mostly consists of red-brick cheap housing, sitting in piles of brown, slushy snow. I would like to say that the shots of the children are moving, but unfortunately they dwell for what seem like hours on a child looking gormlessly out of a window, or twitching and squirming in order to show that he is "acting" the emotion: "self reflection".
What's more, the film is unrealistic to the point that bits become irritating. I'm not talking about the vampire element. I'm talking about the people who are supposed to be "normal". A man watches a child savage his wife and drink her blood. But (for no explicable reason) he takes her home, puts a bandage on her neck and then goes round to see a friend while he leaves her to wake up in bed. No police, no doctors. No reason. A child watches his friend lick his blood off the floor like a cat, while her face morphs into that of an old lady, and yet the next time they meet, he casually asks "Are you a vampire?" with the same slow, dull countenance he uses for every other scene in the film. I could go on.
And furthermore - there are questions which go unanswered. What was the relationship between Eli and her carer? If she is capable of love then why does she do to him what she does, without even batting an eyelid? And what is going on with her groin!!!? So, to summarise, watch this if you want to see a very good concept for a story, ruined by annoying characters, daft behaviour and lots and lots and lots of grimy snow.
Nothing did.
O.k. Maybe that's being harsh. The film is, without doubt, exploring a fascinating avenue: mingling the evil of the occult and death with the innocence of childhood. The occult factor takes the form of Eli - a vampire who lives her life as a twelve year old girl and who is forced to fend for herself in the rather glum suburbs of wintertime Stockholm. She befriends a young child who is bullied at school and leads a rather lonely existence. The film centres on the friendship and the struggles of adolescence, love and being a vampire.
The problem is that the movie attempts to be art-house. It indulges in long, lingering shots with very little occurring. These shots vary between close ups of the characters as they stare at various things, to wide angled shots of snow covered streets. I would like to say that the scenery is beautiful. I would like to ... but I can't. It mostly consists of red-brick cheap housing, sitting in piles of brown, slushy snow. I would like to say that the shots of the children are moving, but unfortunately they dwell for what seem like hours on a child looking gormlessly out of a window, or twitching and squirming in order to show that he is "acting" the emotion: "self reflection".
What's more, the film is unrealistic to the point that bits become irritating. I'm not talking about the vampire element. I'm talking about the people who are supposed to be "normal". A man watches a child savage his wife and drink her blood. But (for no explicable reason) he takes her home, puts a bandage on her neck and then goes round to see a friend while he leaves her to wake up in bed. No police, no doctors. No reason. A child watches his friend lick his blood off the floor like a cat, while her face morphs into that of an old lady, and yet the next time they meet, he casually asks "Are you a vampire?" with the same slow, dull countenance he uses for every other scene in the film. I could go on.
And furthermore - there are questions which go unanswered. What was the relationship between Eli and her carer? If she is capable of love then why does she do to him what she does, without even batting an eyelid? And what is going on with her groin!!!? So, to summarise, watch this if you want to see a very good concept for a story, ruined by annoying characters, daft behaviour and lots and lots and lots of grimy snow.