Slow as Snowfall

It's getting colder out, and people are in the theaters! My friends and I have very naturally fallen into the "yeah, sure!" pattern of constantly going to the movies, now that the time between utter darkness (5:30) and any evening event seems like a lot to kill. I've been out four times in the last couple of weeks and am surprised how many others are too, particularly on weeknights. I mean, it's not January yet...



Jessica and I saw Solitary Fragments (La Soledad) at NWFF tonight. It focuses on a few women and the triumphs (such as beating cancer) and tragedies (such as terrorist attacks) in their lives. It won some festival awards, and Jonathan Holland in Variety says:

Pic shuttles gracefully between the two strands (of stories), the carefully wrought script allowing the parallels to accumulate so that each becomes a commentary on the other, dealing with issues such as selfishness, greed, ambition and emotional manipulation. Beneath all of these lie the familiar themes of solitude and incommunication, here handled with rare intensity. All the drama is under the surface.

I say: you know the kind of movie with no soundtrack, and a five-minute unbroken shot of someone doing the laundry, and then having a heart attack in slow motion? Not really what I go to the movies for.

Jessica concurs: too real.

The split-screens were interesting and the actresses were very good, but far less boring in general was my viewing last night of the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in).



Above is the beast in question, Eli, in a calm, recently-eaten blush. It's a real shame that the movie will only spend one week at the Varsity (through tomorrow), soon to be usurped by Twilight madness. Like Solitary Fragments, it was glacially paced, but gorgeous to look at. As I told my housemate tonight while looking through an Anthropologie holiday catalogue, of course a jeweled necklace looks more beautiful when photographed in the snow. Ditto for a poodle, a lonely 12-year-old named Oskar, and fresh dark blood (among other things). The string soundtrack to Oskar and Eli's courtship was emotive but not manipulative. I've seen a lot of vampire movies and the road taken here was unusual and one of my favorites. There was a sub-story revolving on a character I didn't care about, that I feel could've been removed to make the film a little shorter, but otherwise nearly every frame was a pleasure to watch.

Ebert gave it two thumbs up, but thought it wasn't appropriate for kids. In his review he cites Film Threat's Jeremy Knox, who says that it is, and who I agree with. Knox feels that it's a date movie that "will make women melt." It's true: only because we sat in the middle row did I not give my new beau a (tender) bite on the neck.

Knox also says: Let The Right One In is a touching story about loneliness and falling in love with someone who fills the hole in your heart...The best fairy tales always have so much darkness in them. That's why they resonate so deeply. This is a magnificent film.

Here's Eli on a more difficult day:



This is one film that doesn't glamourize the lifestyle--and suffering--of vampires in any way. Oh yeah, and EW: do your f*cking homework! According to vampire lore, the movie makes perfect sense. Of course, this could be a case of an editor not matching up reporters with material they're in any way interested in actually exploring. Lame.