Nordling's Top 10 of 2008!

2008 was an odd year.  The summer crop was strong, and the fall releases seemed watered down in comparison to last year's multiple masterpieces.  Maybe the writer's strike cut into the schedule a bit.  But there were still many wonderful films to see this year, and although this is a Top 10 list, there's several films that could have made the grade.  Without further blah-blah, here we go!

10. IRON MAN

Robert Downey Jr. is better in IRON MAN than Johnny Depp was in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, and yet I don't think he'll get the accolades that Depp did for his performance as Tony Stark.  Not my favorite superhero film of the year, but it's a solid film regardless, the happy-go-lucky in comparison to THE DARK KNIGHT's gloom and doom.  Knowing what Stark goes through in later stories, it won't be smiles for long, but IRON MAN has a clever script and confidently directed by Jon Favreau.  As for Downey, this is the film that gave him his real second act in American cinema, and I'd like to welcome back a true actor's actor.  His turn in this and TROPIC THUNDER might have squared him that Oscar nomination (and still might) if not for Ledger's performance.  Looking forward to next year's SHERLOCK HOLMES.

9. MILK

Sean Penn doesn't play Harvey Milk as any kind of victim or martyr.  He simply plays him as a man happy with his lot in life, who saw an injustice and wanted it corrected.  Yes, MILK is upfront with its characters sexuality, and it doesn't shy away from it.  And at the same time, it shows us as an audience that these people have the same goals and passions as everyone else - to live their lives free from persecution, to have good jobs, to find love, to raise a family.  The film even makes a hilarious point - straight or gay, no one likes stepping in dog shit.  The passing of Proposition 8 was a dark spot on an otherwise amazing political year, and I wish that MILK had been released earlier and wider.  It may have changed some minds.  What's great about Penn's performance is that the usually morose Penn plays Milk as a pretty happy guy.  There's tragedies in his life, to be sure, but it's inspirational that Milk gets up from them and continues.  Josh Brolin plays Milk's assassin Dan White as a man trapped in his environment, and while you feel sympathy for him the film doesn't excuse what he did in any way.

8. FROST/NIXON

This film, Ron Howard's best since APOLLO 13, may seem ill-suited for the big screen, as it would seem that the subject matter doesn't warrant that kind of attention.  Don't believe it.  Frank Langella doesn't play Nixon with broad strokes, but instead, internalizes the man and his performance is all the more powerful for it.  He doesn't play Nixon, he simply is Nixon.  Michael Sheen is more elusive as David Frost - we never really get inside the man - but when Frost decides to become a real reporter instead of a Cheshire-cat's-grin celebrity, the film in it's way becomes a love letter to what journalism used to be about before they got in bed with politics simply for access. The faux-interviews are unnecessary, but other than that, Howard's made a very compelling drama.

7. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

I was almost ready to write this one off because although it was getting lots of raves, it felt to me like this film was going to be that one film every year that gets all the buzz but in actuality didn't deserve it (see CRASH, A BEAUTIFUL MIND).  I'm happy to discover that that wasn't the case.  This rags-to-riches story's been told before but not like this, with Danny Boyle's film sensibilities and the backdrop of Mumbai, India.  I never thought I'd see the day when WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE became poignant, but SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE manages to do it.  Add to that the amazing score, Bollywood by way of techno, and an instant must-own.  You simply can't miss SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.  If you're a film fan of any caliber, you must see this.  If you don't, I'm not sure I want to know you.  It must be hard, walking around with a piece of coal for a heart.

6. SPEED RACER

Yeah, I'm going to say it.  This for me was the most entertaining film of the summer.  This movie's like a kid's breakfast cereal made of rainbows.  You'd think the Wachowski Brothers invented colors for this movie.  I've seen this film wind up on several worst of lists and that absolutely stuns me.  There is no way in hell this is a bad film, and I feel completely comfortable listing it as one of this year's best.  For one thing, as a family film, it's completely appropriate for kids.  Watching the dynamics of the Racer family play out in this story, I felt that in it's way the Wachowskis were making a film about the sheer joy of family, of all these disparate people coming together and making something wonderful.  Is it perfect?  No, there's stretches in the film that are slow.  It could do with about 20 minutes shaved off it.  But that final race, where 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY blasts through Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, is as beautiful as film art can be.  

5. THE DARK KNIGHT

Is it a comic movie?  A crime film?  Happily, it's both.  We've got some distance now from Heath Ledger's death, and I think we can judge his performance fairly without that tragedy clouding the issue, and it's safe to say that Ledger probably gives the acting performance of the year.  He made the Joker completely his own, and lived up to the potential of that role.  I'd say my favorite scene of his is when the Joker corrects Gamble when he say the Joker is crazy: "No I'm not.  No.  I'm.  Not."  And everyone gives good performances in this film, especially Aaron Eckhart, who if not for Ledger would be getting some accolades of his own.  Sure, I could do without Batman's Oscar The Grouch intimidation voice, but that's a minor nitpick.  The best Batman film yet, and it suggests the superhero genre can be taken seriously now.  Perhaps if all the lawsuit crap can get sorted out, next year's WATCHMEN can elevate the genre more.  Can't wait to find out.

4. WALL-E

There's just no way that this film wouldn't make the list.  I claim no objectivity here - Pixar is the God-studio.  Even their lesser films are classic.  Next year's UP,  if they don't drop the ball in the second half, is probably a guarantee to be on next year's Top 10.  As for WALL-E, I first saw it with an enthusiastic crowd in Austin and I knew it was special when the audience applauded at the end of the film, watched the credits, and applauded again.  It's a wonderful love story, an environmental cautionary tale that's never preachy.  If people are tired of me praising Pixar, then tell Pixar to start making lousy films.  The track record is astonishing, and expect more greatness with UP next year.

3. DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO HIS SON ABOUT HIS FATHER

You want superheroes?  I've got two for you: Kate and David Bagby, parents of Dr. Andrew Bagby.  In 2001, Dr. Bagby was murdered by his ex-girlfriend, Shirley Turner.  In a fit of rage Shirley shot Andrew 5 times and fled to Canada, where the byzantine extradition laws kept her from being tried in the United States.  Then a bombshell drops - she's pregnant with Andrew's child.  Desperate to keep some kind of link to their son alive, the Bagbys move from California to Newfoundland to fight Shirley for custody.  It gets to the point where they have to get visitation to see Zachary from the woman who murdered their son.  When she's sent to prison in Canada to await extradition, The Bagbys bond with their grandchild.  And Kurt Kuenne, filmmaker, decides to make a movie documenting his good friend Andrew's life by driving cross-country to interview Andrew's many friends and acquaintances, hopefully for an historical document for Zachary.  But life hardly coincides with what we expect.

Bring boxes of tissue for this one.  As far as documentaries go, DEAR ZACHARY doesn't exactly break the mold.  It's mostly talking heads telling the many stories of Andrew's life.  Kurt Kuenne doesn't even attempt to claim objectivity - this was his good friend murdered, and his rage at that act is palpable, and his bias to the subject gives the film much of its power.  But when the film takes a horribly tragic turn, it becomes a testament to the bravery of two people - Kate and David Bagby, who more than any of the other cinematic heroes of 2008 earn that description.  This film isn't for the emotionally squeamish - it's a hard, hard road.  At times I thought that the way the film reveals its story was approaching manipulative, but Kuenne wants the viewer to feel how he felt as each event happened, and what he's made here is one of the most riveting and powerful documentaries I've ever seen.  And if you want to learn more or order the DVD, go to www.dearzachary.com for more information.

2.  THE WRESTLER

Mickey Rourke is extraordinary as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a professional wrestler whose age and life choices catch up with him, but he still wants that final go round in the ring.  I'm a big fan of Darren Aronofsky - his FOUNTAIN is my pick for best film of 2006 - but as broad and as emotional as that film was he's remarkably restrained here and the film is all the better for it.  Marisa Tomei continues to make superb acting choices with her roles and she's terrific in this as well.  What I loved most about the film is that while it follows the plot of most sports films to a t, what we're feeling emotionally is the direct opposite of what we're seeing on screen.  When he steps into that ring at the climax, it's an abject failure and the final shot, while on the surface seems victorious, is actually a lie.  The love that the Ram seeks is fleeting and he rejects the loves that last.  It's a hell of a movie, and like RAGING BULL, a study of a deeply flawed man.  I made a real attempt to not let Rourke's public story cloud how I viewed his performance and it would be easy to say that he was born to play this role.  But there's moments where the Ram as a character is emotionally stripped on screen, and that can't just be Rourke's past.  It's an acting triumph, and he's deserving of all the accolades thrown his way.

1. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN 

It's very easy to overhype this movie.  Much of it is quiet, and it's not paced like most films of this genre.  Much of the gore is only suggested, and there isn't one single cheap scare to be found in the film.  On one level it's a tender coming-of-age romance, and on another it's a chilling master/slave story, and what makes it so amazing is that both levels work as well as they do at the same time.  This come-out-of-nowhere instant horror classic blew me away the first time I saw it, and on subsequent viewings it just grows stronger.  Most child performances feel phony, but Tomas Alfredson pulls amazing work, seemingly without trying, out of Kare Hedebrant and especially Lina Leandersson.  I haven't read the novel on which the film is based, which expands Eli's history, but I love how the film suggests aspects of Eli's relationships without being overt.  I love the pool scene, easily the best climax of a movie this year.  I love everything about this film, and it's sure to be talked about for quite some time to come.  A stunning achievement.

Worst Film Of The Year: INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL - This hurts, it really does.  As everyone who knows me can attest,  I'm a Spielberg freak.  So it comes to this, the worst Spielberg film since HOOK (I have a warm spot in my heart for 1941, so don't bother).  People keep telling me that you shouldn't hold SKULL to the RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK standard, but that's bullshit.  Maybe it can't be as good, but it sure as hell can try.  Instead of real guys under real trucks, we get CGI to choke a supercomputer.  Instead of compelling performances, we get a director who, it felt, would obviously rather be making something else and actors who are seemingly just trying to make it through the next take so to get some of that top-notch catering. Harrison Ford, at times, seemed to be engaged, but mostly, it just wasn't the Indiana Jones of the first three films.   And as for George Lucas, he's not interested in any kind of art.  He's sure interested in commerce, though.  I can't wait to see LINCOLN or INTERSTELLAR or any other film that gets Steven Spielberg excited again.  But this is definitely a low point in the man's catalog, and I guess I can't blame him for being bored with this story.  It certainly bored me.  A vine-swinging Shia LeBeouf?  Really, George?

And that about wraps it up.  2009 has the potential to be fantastic.  2008 wasn't terrible, but it can't compare to the juggernauts of 2007.  Still, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN can hold itself high as the real genuine masterpiece of 2008.  Thanks for reading.

Nordling

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

To the rest of the world, or at least the authorities in Mumbai, India, it is simply not possible for Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) to know the things he does.  He was born a slumdog, living among the scraps and garbage, and he hardly went to school in his youth.  So how is it that Jamal is answering every question put to him in India's version of WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?  He must be cheating.  Amid torture and harsh questioning, Mumbai's police inspector (Irrfan Khan) will get answers from Jamal.  And so begins one of the most compelling, best films of 2008.

It's very difficult for me to restrain myself, writing about this movie.  Directed by Danny Boyle (TRAINSPOTTING, 28 DAYS LATER) and co-directed by Loveleen Tandan (MONSOON WEDDING) in an exhilarating style that is never once incoherent, the film feels like a joyous burst of adrenaline straight to the heart.  This is what movies were made for - to entertain, to enlighten, and to elicit real emotions.  It is completely accessible, and even among the atrocious slums of Mumbai there's a loveliness to the cinematography (shot by Anthony Dod Mantle).  Even the subtitles (of which there isn't as many as you might think) pop off the screen.  Through SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE we see a part of the world that we ordinarily might have missed.  Like another film, CITY OF GOD, there's real beauty in the squalor, and although the kids of the film are very poor, there's never a sense of depression or hopelessness in their lives.

As we learn about Jamal's life in the streets of Mumbai, we discover that he also has a brother, Salim (Madhur Mittal), and after their mother is killed in an anti-Muslim riot, they make their way to Mumbai, along with Latika (played as an adult by Freida Pinto).  It becomes obvious quickly that Latika is the love of Jamal's life, and yet through their tribulations they manage to become separated.  Salim turns to a life of crime, and drags Latika along with him.  But although they are apart, Jamal and Fatika's love is ever powerful.  It may be fate, or destiny, that they will be together.  Or it may be that external forces will drive them forever apart.  Either way, it is written.

I can't think of one false note in this film, except for a nitpicky moment when the money that some Americans use to pay young Jamal is too modern for the year that it took place in.  The film's very funny, and when the precocious brothers get into some bad situations Jamal never lets those situations break him.  It's difficult to talk about the acting in SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE because they don't seem to be acting in this film, but living it in the moment onscreen.  But all the performances are real and wonderful.

I never thought I'd see the day when WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE became poignant, but SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE manages to do it.  I didn't mention the amazing score, Bollywood by way of techno, and an instant must-own.  You simply can't miss SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.  If you're a film fan of any caliber, you must see this.  If you don't, I'm not sure I want to know you.  It must be hard, walking around with a piece of coal for a heart.

PUNISHER: WAR ZONE

Move over, Kathryn Bigelow.  There's a new sheriff in town.

I never liked the character of the Punisher in the comics.  In a weird way, I thought he was inappropriate.  In Marvel, everyone's got superpowers, they're heroes, and killing just isn't an option for any of them.  Not so the Punisher, who happily perforates any bad guys who cross his path.  It was as if the writers thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to have Batman... WITH GUNS?!" (Which pretty much misses the point of Batman, but I digress.)

I haven't seen the other two PUNISHER films, but Lexi Alexander has created something pretty damn fun here.  I'm a big fan of dumb action movies that know just how dumb they are.  They aren't ashamed to look ridiculous.  Like xXx or BAD BOYS 2.  In BAD BOYS 2 Will Smith and Martin Lawrence invade Cuba in a Hummer and then rain destruction on some poor shanty village.  It's as if Michael Bay declared war on poverty by literally killing poor people.  Well, PUNISHER: WAR ZONE never met a problem that it couldn't blow the face off of.  And that happens several times in the film - to mob bosses, to grannies, to fat tubs of shit sitting in an elevator - enough to satisfy any action fan's blood lust.

Oh yeah, there's a plot.  Punisher goes after bad guys, bad guys shoot back.  Punisher kills someone he shouldn't and spends half the film feeling guilty about it as we tap our feet and beg for the gun raping to begin.  And then we get a legitimately wonderful performance by Dominic West as Jigsaw, who plays it so hammy he must have said his lines between apple bites at a luau.  We get parkour-hopping bad guys who are hilariously dispatched in unsubtle ways.  And we get Ray Stevenson (ROME) who actually is the first actor to really look the part of Frank Castle.  I think he maybe had 10 lines of dialogue in the whole film, and yet he was very good as the character.

Someone didn't tell Lexi Alexander that she didn't need to make this movie look as amazing as it does.  This may be the best shot action film that I've seen in a while.  One scene that takes place in a church was so impressively shot that I'd like to see Alexander get behind a film that really shows her talents.  Instead, she gets this movie, which feels way below her talent pay grade.  And yet, thank goodness she directed this, because she knows how retarded the whole thing is, and just amps that to 11.

How many people get their faces cratered in?  I lost count after the Punisher punched his fist through one of Jigsaw's goons.  When more people get their faces literally blasted off than you can count, that's always a good thing.  This is a film to have a beer with.

I am an atheist. 

Just putting those words in the white space on my computer is a kind of battle cry.  And yet, it’s not completely true.  I’m nowhere near a pure atheist in the sense that I absolutely do not believe in the possibility of a Supreme Being. But, I’m fairly certain there isn’t one.  I would never be so arrogant as to claim absolute knowledge of the subject, just as people of a religious bent shouldn’t be absolutely certain that they have that same knowledge.  But I think that the evidence, for me, is fairly clear.

 

Now, to those who would be upset by this personal revelation of mine, why?  How does this change your view of me?  Do you somehow think me less moral, less understanding of the ideas of what is right and what is wrong?  My morality was taught to me at a young age, but more importantly, it has been enforced by my life experiences.  Doing the right thing works.  It’s not just some code to live by.  I’ve seen it in action.  Being kind to your neighbor, giving to charity, helping those less fortunate than yourself – these things promote and strengthen our way of life and they make it much more difficult for people and groups with agendas of hate to gain a foothold.  I just don’t need the idea of a reward in Heaven for me to do these things.  I got over the whole gold star bit once I left elementary school. 

I cherish my family just as strongly as before, and just as strongly as you cherish yours.  My passions have not abated, and they will stay as strong as they always did.  I love my daughter no less than you love your child or children.  My love is reinforced by the fact that if this is all there is, then I want more than anything for my daughter to make her mark on this world. As for myself, it is my moral imperative to leave this world just a little bit better than when I arrived.  It is as strong a moral code to me as perhaps the Ten Commandments, or Jesus’ Golden Rule, is to you.  Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.  It’s a rule that doesn’t require a Supreme Being to enforce, but rather the idea that everyone has a personal dignity and greatness to their existence, and that for us to persevere and to co-exist in this world, to do this simple act betters our place in the world as well as our neighbor’s.

 

No offense, but I’ve had far more fulfilling Sundays sitting at home reading a compelling book or watching an amazing film, spending time with my family, than I ever have in church.  It’s not about what faith is right, either.  I’ve been to many different churches in my life, even a synagogue or two, and it just never took hold.  I understand how people need church.  It gives people a sense of community and a structure to their lives.  My community is different than yours, that’s all.  My life structure is just as strong.

If I don’t believe in anything beyond our existence on this planet, if there’s nothing more than our lives, our loved ones, and our place in the world, then that serves as a much more powerful motivation to me that we must better ourselves NOW, and help others NOW.  Because if there’s nothing else, then it is imperative that we make this world better before we leave.  I may not believe in a Heaven, but I do believe in the future.  And in that future is an existence of wonder and beauty, unfettered by our ideologies separating us from each other while amoral people profit from those things that keep us apart.

 

Do I believe in good?  Absolutely.  I’ve seen it.  I’ve seen it in the beauty of the natural world; I’ve seen it in the selfless acts of people helping others without any regard for themselves.  Some have been done through the province of religion.  Some have not.  Hunger doesn’t need a dogma to be cured.  It needs bread, education, and understanding.  Goodness is a healing act meant to build and reinforce the pillars of civilized society.  I know what good is, and how to spread it.  You spread it with education, understanding, and sheer determination of will.

 

Do I believe in evil?  Absolutely.  I’ve seen it.  I’ve seen evil in a plane slamming into a tower, and I’ve seen it in the treatment of a gay man because he was gay.  I point out that it is religion that causes much of this evil but to be fair a faith in a higher power isn’t necessary for people to do destructive things in this world.  Stalin.  Hitler.  And at the same time, with the same breath, I can name Pope Sixtus IV, who allowed the Spanish Inquisition to happen, or the Salem Witch Trials, done in the name of religion.  Evil is a destructive act meant to take down the pillars of civilized society.  I know what evil is, and how to fight it.  You fight it with education, understanding, and sheer determination of will.

 

You would be wrong to assume that I don’t believe in something greater than myself.  I do.  I see it every day.  In a piece of amazing art.  In the power of justice truly enforced, as wrongs are made right.  In the beauty of the natural world.  I am humbled by these things without the need to attribute them to a higher power.  In point of fact, because I do not believe in a higher power, I am well aware of the significance of my life.  Many religious people believe that God validates their existence, and that their God is a personal God who hears and responds to their prayers.  I do not have that luxury.  Instead, I must have faith in the goodness of my fellow man and in the hope for a better day.  And yet, I am comforted in this, because it means that I must behave in a rational manner, bound by rules, instead of submitting my fate to a spurious belief structure.  If I fail in following those rules, I also understand that the consequences for those actions will be paid for in this life.

 

If you believe that my being an atheist is somehow an affront to your faith, you would be wrong.  I would like nothing more than to live my life, and for you to live yours, and I wish nothing but happiness for everyone.  I will be polite, understanding, and compassionate, and I ask you to be the same.  I don’t need a God for these things, but rather empathy towards the human condition and a willingness to be able to stretch my hand out to those less fortunate than myself, not because it is right, but because it is best.   All I ask is for you not to force attribute a higher power to my motives.  They are mine, and mine alone.

 

I am an atheist.  I am proud of that.  And I love you all.  This love is mine, undiminished, which should make it even more important, because I love you not because I have to, but because I want to.  You may come to understand these things, or you may not.  All I ask is that you try to understand me.  Thank you. 

MILK

When it comes to biopics, MILK doesn't exactly break the mold.  It's got flashbacks, stock footage, the entire character arc... it certainly doesn't try the risky things that I'M NOT THERE tried last year.  But when a story is as compelling and as moving as the life of Harvey Milk is, you don't have to do a whole lot of storytelling tricks.  You just hire some terrific actors, get a truly great director like Gus Van Sant (GOOD WILL HUNTING, LAST DAYS), write a funny, warm, and emotional script, and then just go nuts.  Granted, those are pretty difficult things to do on their own.  But with MILK, we get all that and a resonant political message too.  I'll get to that in a bit, because it's the one thing that made me angry about the movie.

I don't want to rehash the plot too much, as it should be familiar with everyone by now.  But I was astonished in many ways by Sean Penn's performance as Milk, not the least of which was his genuine warmth and heart.  Penn's played dark and conflicted for a while now, and his Milk doesn't have a lot in common with his other characters.  If anything, Penn's Milk reminded me of his first major character, Jeff Spicoli.  Each of those share an endless optimism, and like Spicoli Penn is very funny in this as well.  He doesn't play Milk as a martyr.  This was not a man who wanted to die - Harvey Milk loved life and looked forward to a new day every morning.  One of my favorite scenes had Milk attending a christening for another city supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin) and his endless curiosity about being exposed to another aspect of human life.  And yet, Harvey Milk is proud of being gay and refuses to feel guilty about it.  As Penn plays him, Milk uses humor to diffuse tension, but he also knows when not to back down from a fight when he or his way of life is threatened.

Josh Brolin turns in another amazing performance in a row as Dan White, Milk's eventual assassin.  He could have played him as a simple bigot, but Brolin plays him as a complicated, conflicted man, and the film hints that he may be gay-repressed as well.  It is a sympathetic performance and yet makes no excuses for his actions.  Another of my favorite scenes is when White invites Milk to his child's christening, and after Milk's friends berate him for agreeing to come, Milk tells them that to get the support of the straight community, they must be willing to engage them and show them that they aren't a threat to their beliefs.  Which brings me to my final point, and why I'm angry.

This film could have built bridges had it been released earlier.  Yes, MILK is upfront with its characters sexuality, and it doesn't shy away from it.  And at the same time, it shows us as an audience that these people have the same goals and passions as everyone else - to live their lives free from persecution, to have good jobs, to find love, to raise a family.  The film even makes a hilarious point - straight or gay, no one likes stepping in dog shit.  The heinous law that is Proposition 8 passed because of people's fear of the unknown, and here is a film that makes it plain as day - the gay community isn't going away and we should all try a little empathy and understand each other a little bit, and not to be guided by dogma from people who have no interest in anything except to make more money for their churches and to marginalize people into groups that hate each other.  This is a film that should have been released much earlier than it did.  I think even Harvey Milk would agree with that, and he wouldn't have minded the exposure, either.

This year's seen a lot of superhero movies - DARK KNIGHT, HANCOCK, IRON MAN - and in my opinion, MILK is the best superhero movie of the year.  I'm not being glib, or trying to sound glib.  Genuine heroes are few and far between and we need to celebrate them when they come along.  MILK isn't dwelling on his death - it celebrates his life.  Definitely a must-see.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Most movies romanticize childhood to the point of nullifying its power. Sure, films like STAND BY ME or E.T. can look back on it with nostalgia and fondness, but it can be difficult to remember that much of the time being a kid just flat out sucked.  If you weren't an alpha, you were likely picked on, and getting distance from it can make one lose perspective.  But at the time, it's pretty terrifying and there's real danger in it.  Being 12 is tough, no matter when you grew up.

Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a young kid in Sweden during the winter of 1982.  He's shy, socially awkward, and under constant bullying by a group of kids.  At night, he hangs out in his apartment courtyard, stabbing at a tree and vowing revenge against his abusers.  His father is absent except for the occasional weekend visit, and his mother simply is too busy to be bothered with him.

One night, while in a particular fit, Oskar turns around in the courtyard to see a young girl perched on top of a jungle gym.  Her name is Eli (Lina Leandersson), and she quietly intones that "we can't be friends." Oskar is intrigued by her, even though she smells funny, and lets her borrow his Rubik's Cube.  She lives next door with an older gentleman who may or may not be her father.  The next day, he finds his Rubik's Cube solved and Eli replies when asked how she did it: "I just twisted it."  There's something odd about Eli, why she only turns up at night and doesn't seem to mind the cold at all.  Plus there's the fact that her "father"Hakan keeps to himself and goes out at odd times.  It's a dangerous place to be, because someone's apparently killing people and tapping them of their blood.  It doesn't take long for the audience to discover that Eli is a vampire and that Hakan is keeping her alive by murder.  Hakan is getting old, however, and he can't keep killing people like he used to.  Soon Eli is alone and against her own misgivings she is drawn to Oskar, as two lonely children form a deep, lasting bond.

Tomas Alfredson has a way with children as both Kare and Lina are amazing in their roles.  They're so good that it doesn't feel like they are acting.  John Lindqvist's script (based on his novel) is tender and then suddenly terrifying.  Make no mistake, this is a horror film, but it explores young love and friendship in a way that I've never experienced before in a film of this type.  And the vampire myth is done correctly, for the first time in many years, in my opinion.  No leather jackets and quiet teen angst here - Eli's tortured existence wouldn't be wished on anyone.  Her feeding is terrifying and bloody, and there's not a whiff of romance about her state in the film.  Furthermore, they follow the vampire rules to a T (although there isn't any religious angle to the myth as portrayed here).  In one scene Oskar wants to see what it would be like for a vampire to come in the house uninvited, and Eli shows him the horrifying truth to her nature.  As the neighbors begin to suspect that not everything is right with their new tenants, the body count starts to rise and Eli begins to fall in love with Oskar.  "Are you 12?" Oskar asks.  "Yes, but I've been 12 for a long time," she replies.

There's a controversial nature to Eli and Oskar's relationship that I won't spoil here except that more conservative viewers may be taken aback.  And yet, I felt that it was completely appropriate and in its way, innocent.  We see something of Oskar's family history in the film and in it we can see the formations of Oskar's bond with Eli.  As their friendship deepens and grows, Oskar begins to shed his childhood and we come to understand that this film becomes something of a romance, unconventional as it may seem.  I was incredibly moved by this film and at the same time it's one of the most effective horror films I've seen in years.  Highly recommended, and in my opinion, the bulk of the movie audience this weekend is seeing the wrong vampire film.  Do not miss this.  One of the best of the year.