The best thing about seeing a movie without knowing anything about it is that you get to be blown away by something that you might not have seen at all if you’d read a synopsis or review beforehand.
Since I first swooned to Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula when I snuck to my grandmother’s TV for “Shock Theatre” at midnight when I was a kid in the fifties, I’ve pretty much absorbed enough vampire flicks for at least one lifetime. So I might have taken a pass on, say, “Let The Right One In” - or at least let it slide way down my priority list if I’d known that much about it.
It’s exceptional enough, though, that someone (probably my friend Thor would have convinced me to give it a try. But as it was, I went in cold - without any preconceptions - and . . . Holy Moly!, I did not see that coming!
Thor did suggest I see “Border” before it left the big screen with no hint to what or why - except that it was written by John Ajvide Lindqvist who, you guessed it, also wrote “Let The Right One In”.
I still can’t believe anyone could come up with a modern fairy tale so perfectly engrossing and resonant. And after taking “Border” in a second time, I’m sticking with it easily being one of the very finest films last year … and beyond. Ajvide Lindqvist has pulled off a one-two artistic punch the likes of which is extremely rare.
As for the spoiler: the main character recognizes revenge (even justifiable) for what it is and has no taste for it, despite the sacrifice her choice requires:
“I don’t see the point of evil.”
Since revenge in movies has been on my mind a lot lately, this one sticks out.
“Border”’s conception and execution - story, soundtrack, direction, tone, acting, make-up (!), camerawork … did I mention soundtrack? – is spot-on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMs28A1s1OA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMs28A1s1OA
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