let the right one in

this is honestly the most beautiful film i have ever seen. every single shot is a literal work of art. the film is sparsely decorated in both sound and movement, which makes for a more organic experience of the characters, colors, setting, and story. it is a swedish film, so the language of the characters plays an unusually important role, at least for me, who understands none of its soft-spoken, gentle sounds. the two main characters of this film, a young boy and a young girl, are just the most incredible things to watch on film. they are flawless pieces of innocence, and the both of them make you smile as much cry. they both hide inside themselves a darkness which can only be shared between them, and although they are young, there is a timeless suffering presented with their current life situations. in this film you can feel such a shimmering energy pulsating through the setting (Blackeberg, Stockholm), as if it was a wintry being who breathes smoke with each shifting minimal shot. don't get me wrong, there are several horrifying occurrences which take place, a lot of blood, a lot of death. but it's still beautiful, still satisfying in some darkly aesthetic way. there was an american remake of this film (let me in), but it is pretty much a shot-for-shot redundancy, containing a fraction of a fraction of the original beauty. i don't understand why they had to remake something that is already perfect... especially only two years after its release. in any case, i cannot find enough words to tell you how much this film changed my idea of what pure, infinite loveliness is, so that is all.

Sergei Prokofiev - Alexander Nevsky / Lieutenant Kijé Suite

1996; 12 tracks
Jean-Claude Casadesus; Lille National Orchestra

I love Prokofiev, but these two works are possibly the most intense and terrifyingly thrilling pieces of music he ever composed. They are... in a way... the most true and pure nationalistic pieces one could find in Soviet Russia, and perhaps even today. This album also features a new dimension to Prokofiev's complex array of composing styles - film music. Here:


The Alexander Nevsky cantata for mezzo-soprano, chorus & orchestra, Op. 78, performed by the Latvija Choir Academy, with Ewa Podles as the mezzo-soprano.

The Lieutenant Kijé Suite suite for orchestra, Op. 60, performed by the Lille National Orchestra under the baton of Jean-Claude Casadesus.


Alexander Nevsky was a hero in the 1200's who defeated the Swedish army and later won out against a large army of Germans. A film was made by Sergei Eisenstein as propaganda for an impending conflict between Russia and Germany, and Prokofiev became the composer of the music. After Russia and Germany settled their affairs, Prokofiev wrote a cantata from the film music for the concert stage. The work begins with a slow, cold, and icy introduction leading into the Russians singing about Nevsky's win over Sweden. The scene continues to the German invaders singing/chanting in Latin as they pillage. The fourth movement is a call of arms for Russia with a cheerful and imaginative folk-like hymn. The Battle on the Ice is the crux of the work, overlapping the German's latin theme with the Russian theme. Prokofiev also graphically depicts the approaching armies musically, all of which erupts in joyous celebration at the victory. Following the battle is a heartfelt alto solo of a peasant woman looking for the man (or men) she was engaged to marry. Of course, the whole work ends in a rousing Russian chorale. The music is varied and imaginative, (very Prokofiev), and is also seemingly steeped in the Russian folk idiom when the time is right. A dramatic and historically interesting work.

The Lieutenant Kijé Suite, another film score, is generally recognized as the one of the softest, lightest, and most ebullient of Prokofiev's works. It is very lively, engaging, and... Casadesus is a master at getting around these mammoth Russian scores.

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