I have been on a horror kick lately, and trying to be more intentional about using the library streaming app Kanopy. I heard vague but positive things about this movie and checked it out. It starts really quiet with titles, and I soon realized that the film was being dubbed from another language into English, and that out of sync audio threw me, so I switched it back to its original audio in Swedish and allowed subtitles.
The film opens with Oskar, a pale twig of a boy with a platinum bob cut, as he stares out at the night and whispers threats of making someone squeal like a pig. It is his way of processing a bullying incident at school, where three kids are led by their ringleader, Connie, to antagonize and taunt Oskar's days.
What if you are stuck being young and stunted, shunned by your peers without a real friend in the world other than a guardian? How would you discern whether the slightest kindness is heartfelt or you are just that hungry for affection and regard?
That is the central question upon which this film revolves, as one night, Oskar encounters a girl shaped creature named Eli in the common yard of the apartment complex. Both recognize a kindred spirit, as the days are full of misery and pain. And the nights are a refuge in the company of each other. Eli is a child of divorce, with distracted parents and a fascination with gristly news stories of death and violence. And Eli is the cause of many of those news stories, as a vampire trapped at an age of "12, more or less", and a Renfield who is struggling to find involuntary candidates for the harvesting of blood for the needs of his charge.
One night, Oskar offers Eli a Rubik's Cube puzzle as a measure of trust and overture of friendship. He comes out to the commons on the following morning to find it solved in the snow.
While in school, Oskar learns Morse code and is excited at the idea of sharing this information with his new friend as a means of communication and shared secret, only to be confronted by Connie for what he stayed back in class to write something down. One of Connie's minions is stared down to punish Oskar by whipping him in the legs with a branch, Oskar patiently waits it out with his eyes closed, and a final blow to his cheek draws blood. Connie taunts him to explain that to his mom when he gets home, but the bullies retreat. Oskar makes an excuse about tripping at recess, but opens up to Eli later that night. She encourages him to stand up for himself and hit back instead of being such a passive object offering no resistance to their escalation.
Eli's Renfield requests that his mistress stay away from Oskar, as it is an unnecessary risk of exposure. But Oskar is a trusting, vulnerable, and hurting kid, and Eli relates to his loneliness. Oskar and Eli dance around a relationship, as they talk and confide in one another about the pains of this coming of age and being stuck in a weak and vulnerable frame where a more stable and adult future is tantalizingly out of reach.
The performances are excellent and its innocence reminded me of "Good Manners", a 2017 Portuguese coming of age film about a boy afflicted with lycanthropy. Stories about children monsters with moments of great violence and tenderness are a unique tone, somehow encapsulating the liminal space of the experience of childhood in literal metaphor.
There is a relatable humanity to the characters' interactions, between a selfish lashing out as vengeance for pain experienced and a strong urge to shield and protect those you love from the worst moments of themselves and others.
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