Bath of Blood

For discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel Låt den rätte komma in
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dongregg
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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by dongregg » Sun Nov 22, 2015 6:57 pm

Drakeule wrote:It's funny. We can accept vampirism, genital mutilation, shape shifting, and telepathy, but we can't rap our heads around a bathtub...
Glitches happen. It's not squeamishness, I think, but logistics.

As PeteMork observed:
PeteMork wrote:I had thought it was a small glitch in the novel. Didn't JAL explain at one point that it was a kind of tribute to Carmilla, and that he regretted having left it in? If that's the case, then it was most likely supposed to be human blood in spite of all the logical inconsistencies that metoo has pointed out. :think:

Also, the fact that it didn't happen in the film could be another indication that he had finally abandoned the idea altogether. If it had been left in, it certainly would have made for a scene much darker than it was already, and to aficionados of vampire films, much creepier. (And if he had wanted to include it, I'm sure it could have been done without any special effects or significant extra cost.)
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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metoo
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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by metoo » Sun Nov 22, 2015 7:47 pm

dongregg wrote:Glitches happen. It's not squeamishness, I think, but logistics.
I agree. JAL base all his stories on a firm foundation of normality, a totally credible world into which he lets seep some supernatural stuff. But the blood bath isn't supernatural - the blood was very concretely brought into the bathroom in large plastic containers. And this raises questions - how did Håkan manage go acquire this much blood without raising suspicions, and how did he bring the canisters into the apartment undetected? Well, blood is collected in huge quantities at slaughterhouses, and it isn't totally inconceivable that Håkan could order some at such an establishment. (Perhaps under the pretense that he was about to attempt a small business based on grandma's extraordinarily delicious recipe for blackpudding?) But he still had to get the blood into the apartment.

However, a bigger problem with the blood bath concerns Eli's history. It puts a very heavy restriction on Eli's life though the ages, more so than his need to feed on human blood, I would say.

Still, my greatest problem with the blood bath appears when I attempt to write fan fiction. I just't can't dream up a plausible scenario where O&E rests every night in a blood-filled container. Neither can I find a reason why Eli suddenly wouldn't need a blood bath anymore. My solution to this problem has been to make a deviation from the novel, and totally disregard the blood bath. In my version of the LtROI universe Eli rested tightly wrapped in blankets in one of the wardrobes. No need for Eli to spend his days in a bathtub if he wasn't resting in blood, right? Strangely, a bathtub bed for Eli has still proved very popular among fan fiction writers...
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist

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Drakeule
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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by Drakeule » Sun Nov 22, 2015 8:31 pm

metoo wrote:In my version of the LtROI universe Eli rested tightly wrapped in blankets in one of the wardrobes.
And why not? Virginia did just that, and had no desire to sleep in blood whatsoever. She wanted to drink it but that's another story.

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dongregg
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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by dongregg » Sun Nov 22, 2015 8:41 pm

metoo wrote:[...My solution to this problem has been to make a deviation from the novel, and totally disregard the blood bath. In my version of the LtROI universe Eli rested tightly wrapped in blankets in one of the wardrobes. No need for Eli to spend his days in a bathtub if he wasn't resting in blood, right? Strangely, a bathtub bed for Eli has still proved very popular among fan fiction writers...
Yeah, I didn't give the bathtub a second thought when I started writing fan fictions. Eli was in a box on the train. Thereafter, Eli and Oskar share a pallet. (I've never mentioned it, but of course it's Håkan's old pallet :) ) Or they just lie down in a safe place and zone out in their vampiric way. I have a feeling that they are like my cat, Phoebe. She doesn't seem to care whether she is lying on the remote or on a down pillow. She's a queen, not a princess!
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by ltroifanatic » Sun Nov 22, 2015 11:18 pm

I like to get around the problem by imagining it's some sort of one-off thing. Perhaps curative for an injured or hurt vampire? Maybe Eli intuitively knows that Hakan will search for him and there will be an inevitable showdown? . Anyway I'm so glad they put Eli in the bathtub without the blood in the movie. I think it maybe my favourite scene . Eli cuddling her teddy bear and purring .Cuter than cute. And thanks Donregg. I've watched the movie without subtitles and am seeing so much more.

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metoo
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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by metoo » Mon Nov 23, 2015 5:40 am

ltroifanatic wrote:Anyway I'm so glad they put Eli in the bathtub without the blood in the movie. I think it maybe my favourite scene . Eli cuddling her teddy bear and purring. Cuter than cute.
That's the movie scene that I think deviates most from the novel. In the latter Eli was far from cute, and there of course was no teddy bear. The vampire sleep as depicted in the novel is totally inhuman, rather frightening to observe, and that was part of what Lacke experienced. He had very mixed feelings when he stood there on his knees beside the tub. On one hand he perceived a monstrosity, but on the other a defenceless child. I would have liked some of the former in the movie, too.

And, to tell the truth, I cringe a little whenever I come across a purring Eli in fan fiction.
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist

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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by gkmoberg1 » Tue Nov 24, 2015 3:08 am

The power of visualisation over text is apparent in several ways.

One is this visualisation of the sleeping child, secure in her bathtub purring away. I think it's key to the movie because it further builds the audience's sympathy for the little neglected soul. Consider the alternative of seeing naked, darkened blood red soaked Eli emerging into view as Lacke empties the bathtub. It's completely eerie and we'd never forget the moment, but it wouldn't raise the audience's bond with the little creature.

The other is the visualisation of that same little vampire as a girl.

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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by a_contemplative_life » Tue Nov 24, 2015 4:05 am

metoo wrote:
ltroifanatic wrote:Anyway I'm so glad they put Eli in the bathtub without the blood in the movie. I think it maybe my favourite scene . Eli cuddling her teddy bear and purring. Cuter than cute.
That's the movie scene that I think deviates most from the novel. In the latter Eli was far from cute, and there of course was no teddy bear. The vampire sleep as depicted in the novel is totally inhuman, rather frightening to observe, and that was part of what Lacke experienced. He had very mixed feelings when he stood there on his knees beside the tub. On one hand he perceived a monstrosity, but on the other a defenceless child. I would have liked some of the former in the movie, too.

And, to tell the truth, I cringe a little whenever I come across a purring Eli in fan fiction.
IIRC, in the film it's more of a growling sound. It's not really a noise I associate with "cute."
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dongregg
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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by dongregg » Tue Nov 24, 2015 4:07 am

gkmoberg1 wrote:The power of visualisation over text is apparent in several ways.

One is this visualisation of the sleeping child, secure in her bathtub purring away. I think it's key to the movie because it further builds the audience's sympathy for the little neglected soul. Consider the alternative of seeing naked, darkened blood red soaked Eli emerging into view as Lacke empties the bathtub. It's completely eerie and we'd never forget the moment, but it wouldn't raise the audience's bond with the little creature.

The other is the visualisation of that same little vampire as a girl.
Ingmar Bergman said, "No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul."

That is the visual and emotional power of the film. It's where I live. By extension, novels go to the heart by way of the head. This is why I can say that the film stands alone. Interpreting the film in terms of the novel isn't necessary. I said that before, and a member gave me a nice insight -- many members enjoy the back and forth. For those who find the activity to be fun, then have at it -- turn the novel and the film inside out and make all of the comparisons that you can. It doesn't take away from the film or the novel.
“For drama to deepen, we must see the loneliness of the monster and the cunning of the innocent.”

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metoo
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Re: Bath of Blood

Post by metoo » Tue Nov 24, 2015 7:19 am

ltroifanatic wrote:Eli cuddling her teddy bear and purring. Cuter than cute.
a_contemplative_life wrote:IIRC, in the film it's more of a growling sound. It's not really a noise I associate with "cute."
I have only watched the movie on my (rather large) computer screen, with the sound produced by the (quite limited) built-in computer speakers. But the film was made to be watched in a movie theatre on a big screen, with proper movie theatre sound. Perhaps in such a context the purring/growling noise creates the ominousity I miss in the scene in the movie, being a sound one can can barely hear but would rather feel as a vibration in the air.
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist

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