new infected

[tawkins]

In the movie, the face of Eli, his body language etc. My brain can not see anything other than a girl, and this is also how I found the most beautiful and touching story for me.
In the book, in fact, I can not imagine Lina Leanderson by Eli but someone "neither boy nor girl."
But you are right, we must go beyond sex, after all, it's not so important, just LOVE.
Unaccustomed as we are not fall into the category GIRL or BOY then we are left confused by people like Eli ...

[drakkar]

Yes, it is the same like in Let me in. That does not make Abby a boy either.

There is an important difference between LTROI and LMI: Alfredson intended and decided to show Eli as a boy, while Matt Reeves decided to show Abby as a girl.
Because of this, when Eli says "I'm not a girl" he could mean that he is a boy, or he could mean he is a vampire. When Abby says this, it collapses to the most liable option that Abby means she is a vampire. Most hints in LMI falls dead, because they doesn't lead anywhere, or because they are contradicted in the film (eg. the photo showing The Father together with Abby as a kid).

Alfredson portrays Eli as a multilayered character, in the beginning Eli is the opposite of Oskar, they are like yin and yang, but then they starts to converge. For example Eli says "same as you" when Oskar accuses him for being a killer, you have the "be me, a little" (just taste those words), and at last Eli even turns out to be a boy, like Oskar.

My brain can not see anything other than a girl, and this is also how I found the most beautiful and touching story for me.

Agreed, film Eli looks like a girl, and moves like a girl, and that must be intended by Alfredson; John Ajvide Lindqvist even asked them to consider boys playing the Eli part. However, beneath the surface, there are many hints. For example, Eli's attitude is rather boyish (asking Oskar "what are you doing" instead of the more girlish "who are you", the "hit back" advice instead of comforting Oskar when hurt).

You guys are making this thread very intereing for the new member!!

Cranking up to winter solstice!

[a_contemplative_life]

In the movie, the face of Eli, his body language etc. My brain can not see anything other than a girl, and this is also how I found the most beautiful and touching story for me.
In the book, in fact, I can not imagine Lina Leanderson by Eli but someone "neither boy nor girl."
But you are right, we must go beyond sex, after all, it's not so important, just LOVE.
Unaccustomed as we are not fall into the category GIRL or BOY then we are left confused by people like Eli ...

Hi tawkins,

I think you've touched upon an aspect of the film that many people stumble over. When I first got into LTROI ,I pretty much consistently referred to Eli as a she, because as you point out, Lina is indisputably female and the film was the thing that attracted me. After I read (and re-read) the novel, though, I came to view the film and the novel as slightly different takes on what is essentially, in my mind, a single thing: the story of Oskar and Eli. And the more I came to view them as a unified whole, the more comfortable I became referring to Eli as a boy. So I guess you could say that what felt weird at first, came to feel familiar.

[Klesk]

Alfredson portrays Eli as a multilayered character, in the beginning Eli is the opposite of Oskar, they are like yin and yang, but then they starts to converge. For example Eli says "same as you" when Oskar accuses him for being a killer, you have the "be me, a little" (just taste those words), and at last Eli even turns out to be a boy, like Oskar.

In my childhood sometimes girls told me to defend myself and at least to be like them. In my opinion these girls had a slightly questionable point of view in terms of violence so I didn't pay much attention on this. For instance: One of them was my big sister and another one was the daughter of this person (a little bit prominent in Germany / here is one newspaper article in english). I do not think they wanted me to become a girl. In their point of view I was to submissive for them. Especially for a boy. I guess.

[drakkar]

I do not think they wanted me to become a girl. In their point of view I was to submissive for them. Especially for a boy. I guess.

But you didn't tell them you were not a boy, I guess?

[Klesk]

But you didn't tell them you were not a boy, I guess?

If I had said this, she would have probably agreed.

[drakkar]

OK, I think perhaps we should stop there!?

[StrayAway]

We're all VERY glad to see you. They don't let me out but a few minutes at a time. I'm hard on the furniture. It's a tough forum. Hey! You want to see what I got in this box..?

[Klesk]

Gnah ... I am in good company.
It is their way to show that they take care of me, i guess.

[Marok]

Hello everyone,
I’m new here as well. I decided not to open a new topic for the same reason, so that’s why I’m replying here in tawkins’ topic.

Having read about less activity and fewer users especially in JALs Seasons greetings, I decided to voice myself instead of just quietly lurking around in here any longer.
As a great source of information, not just about LTROI, with interesting discussions and nice people this place should be kept alive to be explored by the continual arrival of new infected in the future.
The infection is still spreading. May it never come to a halt!


The first time I got in touch with this particular story was by watching LMI back in August and I really liked it. So it got me interested beyond just the picture and I started looking for some additional information, just to find out that it’s based on a Swedish movie a mere two years older. Having liked the remake I thought it’d only be fair to give the original a shot, too. But I wasn’t in a hurry doing so, as I thought that LMI is just a good movie. It didn’t get me hooked beyond that.

It wasn’t until late November that I got to see LTROI. Already knowing the plot it had a slight disadvantage, especially since both movies are very similar about that. So my first thought once the credits rolled was: “I liked LMI a little better”. Oh my! I was wrong. Slowly but surely my opinion shifted. Something happened that I didn’t really notice at first. Despite knowing the plot, LTROI managed to deliver this story, its characters and all the other details that make this movie not just into my head but my heart as well, to settle down there. Repeated viewing only intensified that feeling and opinion. It’s safe to say LTROI is my favorite movie!

Yet, I think a few things could’ve been better (like the scene in the basement, where Eli licks the blood off the floor. These two little cuts to a different, older Eli and back look a bit weird in my opinion) and the movie left a few questions unanswered that I had a desire to know about. Here the novel came to use, to get some background information about Håkan and Eli in particular. I haven’t read it, but other people did and shared these details across various sources.

Still, there was more. And that’s how I found this forum. I was wondering how it can be that Eli has blue eyes in the movie whereas the actress Lina clearly has brown ones. Among the search results this topic appeared, which gave me a little insight into the matter and that’s how I ended up here in this place.
Still don’t know why her having blue eyes was that important, though.


Anyways, I’m glad to be here and I wish you all Happy Holidays!