Eli, on the Verge of Tears?

[gymmy64]

[metoo]

Yes, this snippet shows how much is going on in the scenes that might easily be overlooked.

All close-up scenes are like that, the tiny muscles below the skin in the kids' faces creating the faintest shadows that convey their inner feelings, it's very subtle and very moving.

[DMt.]

Lovely thread. "Evil Eli" notions completely demolished.

[TheBlackDahlia89]

This was one of my favorite scenes from the film. I feel that Eli finally has a chance at a normal human existance and that Oskar is the one that allows him to finally embrace the chance to become what he has been lacking for the majority of his life—the chance to experience what it is like to be an adolescent. Throughout the film, it’s the subtly that radiates from Eli that suggests he has a connection to Oskar and that he has the opportunity to experience the innocence that was taken from him when he was castrated, when he became a vampire and the relationship that he had with Håkan. Some of these subtle moments are: the smile that Eli has when Håkan closes the door and he has the piece of paper that Oskar gave him with the list of the alphabet in Morse code, the way he acted at the meeting at the jungle gym where he asks Oskar if he smells better, and the smile that he had when he shows up at Oskar’s front door.

[Cuchullain]

I agree completely with the majority of what was written here. This is one of the finest scenes and one of the finest performances from two young actors who have defied expectation. Oskar has shown acceptance and this offer of acceptance is probably the first one Eli has had in many years therefore the reaction is genuine. When I watched it first I was sure whether or not the love was genuine and not just a manipulative act on Eli's part but by the end of the film I had discounted this view. That decision was cemented when I read the book. Recognition of their childhood innocence is key to my interpretation of this film.

[DMt.]

I will repeat here, unabashed, that JAL said once that if all the rest of his work was lost, and this scene alone remained, he would still be happy; that he thought, here, he had got close to the essence of love. Kind of says it all. Tears me up every time, just thinking about it

[mackousko]

Beauty in purest form. ...Psst... i dropped a tear or two I´m not so strong like Eli.

[Lucibel]

In the bedroom scene, at about 57:30, Eli tells Oskar that they can go steady and Oskar says "good." Between this statement and Eli's touching of Oskar's arm, Eli has an expression that appears to me to be something very close to crying. Does anyone agree/disagree, or wish to venture a guess about what Eli is thinking at this moment?

Agree. I think she's overwhelmed, happy. About to cry is the best way to put it.

[Bustedstuff15]

I think to me the emotions of Eli during this scene along with her unknowing of what Oskar means by going steady really proves that movie Hakan was a pedophile and not just an old lover. If Hakan was an old lover than she wouldnt get so choked up about this. Its really a touching moment