But when I reviewed this Swedish film again, the chill was released from my heart. It was all because, the second time I really understood and understood the creative ideas that the director wanted to show to the audience. We were just like a little Oscar. Deceived.
Speaking of this, I have to compare with another recent vampire-themed film, which is "Twilight" twilight. In this way, the problem becomes so simple. If "Twilight Allure" is a fairy tale movie with handsome boys and beautiful girls and a complete plot, then "No One Who Lives" is an adult movie dressed in a fairy tale. Therefore, it is called an adult fairy tale. The so-called "adult" does not refer to the violence and gore in the film, but also almost no pornography. The "adult" of "Never enter the stranger" is embodied in its cunning intentions.
When I re-examined this work destined to become a niche movie, I was completely shocked by the director's cunning and wit. It seems to be a dull and plain narrative, but in reality it is a flashback with hidden secrets. The director used an analogy to present the ending of the Oscar to the audience at the front of the film. In fact, the "dad" in the film is a key figure. It can be said that his ending is also the ending of the Oscar.
Little Oscar is a taciturn boy, but he is not stupid, even a little clever, in school, he has no friends, and is often bullied by three other boys in the class. He always likes to vent the suppressed anger in his heart by holding a knife at the air or a tree when there is no one. One day a new tenant moved in next door, an old man and a girl about the age of Oscar.
When little Oscar vented her depressed emotions to a tree downstairs again, the new neighbor Ellie had the first chat with little Oscar, a conversation that changed his life, the beginning of a perfect trick. When you watched the film completely, and then looked back at the chat, you realized that it was all tricks and deception. The first time anyone saw the Rubik’s Cube, could it be twisted into six sides? Even if Little Allie is a vampire with super powers, wouldn't a vampire who has lived for hundreds of years know the Rubik's Cube? I also asked Little Oscar what it was and how to play it.
In fact, seeing this, we still can't see the tricks of the vampire Ellie, and it is through "Dad" that the director reveals Ellie's true face and intentions.
The story about "Dad" has three main parts. The first part is that he kills and collects blood in the wild, uses an anaesthetic to numb a young man running on the road, and then kills and collects blood. It is a pity that he is clumsy and strenuous when he is old. After being discovered by the dog walker, he fled in a hurry, and the blood in the barrel was forgotten to take away in a hurry.
In the second paragraph, Ellie had to search for food because "Dad" failed to collect blood. She killed an old good man in the town. After that, "Dad" helped to dispose of the corpse, and he dragged the corpse to a few kilometers away. The ice hole sank into the water.
In the third paragraph, he was preparing to go out to get blood again. This time he ventured to school. In the evening, he took advantage of a boy who had finished playing to anaesthetize him and prepared to get blood again, but this time he not only failed but was also discovered by others. Now, in order not to expose Ellie’s identity, he chose to destroy his face with sulfuric acid. Later, the police sent him to the hospital for treatment. At night, Ellie climbed into "Dad"'s ward. "Dad" once again selflessly protected Ellie. He unplugged the cannula and allowed Allie to drink his own blood. He fell to his death.
There are several details in the film that are quite worthy of our attention. One detail is that when "Dad" returned home after failing to take blood, he was scolded by Ellie. When he was guilty and unable to do his best, he only said indifferently when facing Ellie's scolding: sorry. The expression was sad but helpless. The other was begging Ellie not to see the Oscar before going out to collect blood for the second time, who looked like a desperate and helpless child. The contrast is Ellie’s attitude towards “Dad”. One detail is that after Ellie just learned Morse code from Oscar, she returned to the room and couldn’t wait to separate the “Dad” who was reading the newspaper away from the wall. Oscar flirts. The other is the slight warmth that the old man showed when he begged Ellie not to see Oscar.
Perhaps the "dad" decades ago was another Oscar, and the little Oscar became another "daddy" decades later.
Another highlight of the film is the story between a couple in a small town. A good friend of a man was killed by little Ellie. The simple people in a Nordic town were shocked by the death of this good old man, and the man was also in a bad mood. To the extreme. Once after he had an argument with his wife, his wife slammed the door and was attacked by little Allie. Fortunately, the man chased him out in time to save his wife's life. But it was too late. The woman was infected by Ellie and she was about to become a vampire. Later, when the woman was bitten by a cat in the hospital, she let the man end her life, but the man couldn’t bear it. Finally, the woman quietly said to the doctor, "Please open the curtains". In this way, the woman used the doctor's hand to commit suicide in order to protect her family when facing the fate of being infected as a vampire.
On one side is the juvenile's wishful thinking, and on the other side is the life and death of a middle-aged couple. The former has many styles and gorgeous pen and ink, but innocent but full of tricks, the latter is secular and plain, but is full of deep and sincere feelings in peace. This is the profound theme that the director wants to show us: maybe they can give up their lives in order to protect their loved ones, but the juvenile’s wishful thinking can betray the whole world for the little happiness. It seems to love deeply but only It's only selfish, and the latter, mature emotion, does not break through the moral bottom line in order to protect the loved one.
On one side is a blond teenager who longs for power, on the other side is a middle-aged man with a big belly and his face is oily, on the other side is a pure-looking little vampire, and on the other side is a yellow-faced woman with wrinkles and heavy makeup. On the one hand, in order to protect the beloved, he does not hesitate to kill and collect blood, while on the other hand, to protect the beloved, he can destroy himself.
Did the director lie to us from the beginning? Let the audience hate the ugly appearance, ignorant and vulgar middle-aged couple, and let the audience sympathize and like the little Oscar who is a little clever but always bullied, and let people appreciate the cold and mysterious Ellie. Yes, the director used the audience's prejudice to judge people by appearance from the beginning.
To be honest, watching this film made me feel very uncomfortable, and a chill was released from my heart and spread quietly. When I recall the title again-Let the right one in. It turns out that the Nordic Snow White of such a large length, and that large-sized boy and little vampire are just foreshadowing, but just a foil, yeah, let the right one in come in, don't let the appearance fascinate our eyes. If this is a fairy tale, then the fairy tale is like Aesop's fable commented by Mr. Qian Zhongshu, full of cunning and trickery, and it is a fairy tale unsuitable for children.
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