Monday, October 11, 2010

Let the right one in... Americanized?




Why oh why did they have to remake this film? Two years ago, Swede filmmaker and writer Tomas Alfredson and John Lindqvist made a phenomenal movie by the name Let the Right one in, or "Låt den rätte komma in" in its native tongue. The original is one of my top five favourite films made in the last five years, among the likes of Pan's Labrynth. I suppose it may be the film snob in me who feels such a strong prejudice towards the remake, but I don't think I'll be able to view it without any bias. I just don't see why they had to remake a film relased only two years ago. Is this a question of money or sucess? This happens too frequently... The need to bring something artistic and unique to America. Why not just re-release the originals if they have such an appeal to North Americans? If there's a market for a remake there's a market for the original. However, it's a little tricky to guage if the original would become more sucessful only because there's a remake or vice versa. This seems to be the case for a lot of films. Solaris, for example, became an instant Sci Fi success, compared to Kubricks 2001 Odyssey, only once the petty George Clooney remake sucked balls. Before the retelling, Solaris was mainly popular in Russia and Europe, and among critics.

but why the need to remake something so soon after its original's release? This is a curious thing to research. Which I will probably do, because I'm a nerd.

The American version of Let the Right one in, with the title "Let Me In," has received great reviews. I am just not sure I'm open minded enough to enjoy it without feeling I've committed adultery on its predecessor.

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