Subtitled

In the past three weeks I have watched two foreign films that were really good. I am not going to get into any analysis or anything, I just wanted to mention them.

The first was Let the Right One In, a Swedish vampire film. This was very different from any American vampire film I have ever seen, and I'm a fan of vampire films so I have seen a lot of them. Basic premise: Lonely twelve-year-old boy, part of a broken home and plagued by bullies, meets the new girl who just moved into the apartment next door. They become friends, even though she does not go to school and only comes out to play after sunset. And oh, someone was recently attacked in a nearby park and the killer attempted to drain their blood. It is one of those movies that is not quite what you'd expect and does not play out according to any traditional Hollywood formula. This one is sweet and twisted at the same time.

Switching gears to the other foreign film: I watched the French thriller, Tell No One. There is nothing revolutionary about this one and it should appeal to just about any American movie-watcher who likes the mystery-suspense genre, but it's freakin' good. The movie is actually based on a book of the same name by U.S. novelist Harlan Coben. Basic premise: Young doctor Alex Beck and his wife are assaulted one night; he is hospitalized and she is murdered. Eight years later, Beck receives an email which offers proof that his wife is alive and tells him "They're watching. Tell no one." A lot of great twists and turns in this one if you are a fast reader and can keep up with the subtitles.

I hear that both movies are being adapted for U.S. versions. Tell No One will do just fine, although I'm sure a rock-music soundtrack and more gunplay will be added. I read the book last year and I would recommend that too if you are a reader. I cannot imagine that Hollywood would do anything but butcher Let The Right One In. I am not a film snob by any means, but I just can't see a major studio being brave enough to stay true to the whole plot. So rent that one an enjoy it now as it was meant to be seen.