Let The Right One In

If you were in my section, you know I chose the novel "Let The Right One In" to nominate for a Pulitzer Prize. I gave a PowerPoint presentation where I expanded upon the commonly known plot and delved into the themes that run throughout the book, a few of which included isolation, cruelty toward children by adults and other children, crime, romance, and, of course, vampirism. I had included a link of the movie's trailer in my presentation, but time ran short and I didn't get to show it to the class. This was honestly one of the best film adaptions of a novel I've ever seen and the bleakness of the book truly translates well onto the screen. The child actors are phenomenal (which, as we know, is a rarity onscreen and even harder to do when the content is serious). Brilliant movie, brilliant book. I'd say it doesn't matter if you choose to watch it or read it first. The book IS more detailed, which is a bonus, and describes more of Eli's background and contains several more scenes that exemplify each of the characters' personalities. However, the film is stark and straightforward. If you haven't read the novel, it's also more shocking. There's pros and cons either way, but I encourage you to check both of them out.

http://www.lettherightoneinmovie.com/

This is the official website for the movie, which came out in 2008, the same time the novel was translated into English. There's already an American remake in the works, which I find disappointing. Why can't we just leave great foreign films alone? Watch them with subtitles. It's not that difficult. There doesn't need to be an "American" version of everything. You're missing half the body of the novel if you take away the setting of Sweden, as the original source includes European child prostitution rings, the "old world" vampire history, European public transit (which is completely absent in the US with the exception of major cities), Cold War worries about Sweden's neighbors, how bloody cold it is in Scandinavian countries, etc, etc....

Death at a Funeral, a British black comedy, was recently re-released as an American comedy and was generally not as well regarded as the original. Why not come out with our own films instead of half-arsed remakes literally TWO or THREE years after the original came out? It makes no sense to me! The director remaking "Let The Right One In" has said that he hopes everyone will give his film a chance and how much he reveres the original, but it leads me to wonder... why not let the world discover how great the original is before slapping an American one on the market? Does this feel like a cultural dominance trend to anyone else? I'd love to hear your opinions, because with the onslaught of Japanese horror remakes, American versions of British comedies, and now, taking about the only thing Americans have heard about from Sweden (with the exception of Moto Boy (swoon!)) has really gotten me going.

Can you think of a remake that ever got your blood boiling?