Movie Confessions contd....

In continuation of the foreign film recommendations which I started last time here, I would like to share two more films very close to me.

Let the Right One In (Lat den rätte comma in - Sweden)

I have always been a big fan of vampires or I would say vampire movies since I was a kid. I must have seen too many of them. The recent Twilight series did not really impressed me since it was too mushy and over dramatic for me. I don’t know how did it managed to build up such a fan following. Anyways, I am not here to discuss that but another vampire movie which just blew me off with its simplicity. I like things simple and straight and not beating around the bush to prove your point thus this movie impressed me beyond expectations. It does not have too many characters and is set in the backdrop of Nordic winters, dark and snowy. The two main characters of the movie are the two teenagers, a boy named Oskar and a girl named Eli. The boy is more of a friendless loner living with his mother in a multi apartment building and if often bullied in the school. The girl is a new neighbour who just moved in. The movie beautifully portrays the feelings and emotions of both these characters. They form a bond between them, a strange one though as the girl turns out to have lived as a blood drinker. She eventually even becomes the guy’s saviour from the bullies. Oskar slowly realises who Eli eventually is but never overreacts. His feelings and emotions do not change for Eli and I think this creates a lot of attraction for Eli towards Oskar. The movie does not have a lot of gore but depicts the emotions of both the characters and even go on proving that they can also exist together in harmony. It is the chemistry between both these characters and the events which unfold with them which make me recommend this movie.       

Incendies (Incendies - Canadian, French)

If you like strong and bold movies, movies which leave a mark on you, movies with a substance, then I would highly recommend you this movie. As the movie ended, I went a little numb in my head. I was overwhelmed by emotions of sorrow and grief but quickly that turned into joy and happiness, that this is called a movie. This is how storytelling should actually be, gripping. I felt very content after finishing the movie. So, the movie is about twins, Jeanne and Simon who are asked to go to Middle East as per the will of their dead mother, Nawal Marwan to find their roots and more importantly their father. Simon gets upset listening to the unconventional points mentioned by their mother in the will and refuses to follow all of them. But Jeanne for some reasons leaves alone to find the truth. The movie then starts moving back and forth between the flash back story of Nawal and the journey of Jeanne. Slowly, things start to unfold and there comes one surprise after the other leaving the audience in awe. The director does a great job of always keeping the characters in his control through all the twists and turns, never letting the story out of context. The movie begins as a journey ends up leaving both the characters and its audience a bit shaken. A must see for movie lovers.