Lina Speaks! Maybe...?

[StrayAway]

Okay, I guess I'm just throwing this one up in the air to count how many holes it has in it when it hits the ground. But here I go: In the basement, when Eli is more or less out of frame and Oskar is beginning to channel Cochise with the blood brother thing, Eli is heard to ask what it was Oskar had said they were going to do down there. I believe that voice is different; not the dubbing voice. It sounds, well, a little higher. Maybe the director left this snippit of dialogue in just so Lina has at least a line in her own voice...?

Wait -- let me get out of the way!

Okay!


.......
"No, I - I better not look. I just might be in there." (Foghorn Leghorn)

[dongregg]

I'll have to listen.

Meanwhile, there are ways to hear Lina's voice at different ages. Some of the interviews in the Media section are no longer available, but it's worth a thorough search of that section.

You could also Google Lina Leandersson Interviews.

What I've heard, Eli's voice doesn't sound too high or girlish. I sort of wish they hadn't dubbed it, but I also like Elif Ceylan's voice, so...

[StrayAway]

Well, I know it's probably not going to be so, but it would be nice if it were, and it would have been a good place to do it because Eli is out of shot and the line is delivered in the middle distance so it doesn't disrupt the scene. And it was Lina's very first film (as it was for Kåre). I have no problem with the dubbing. How often do you see a film's major character played so seamlessly by, in effect, two talents at the same time? Seriously powerful collaboration. I like everything about the film, including the little flubs that were left in. I have not watched the deleted scenes (and probably won't). The movie is full of truly iconic images. For me the three that are forevermore burned on my brain are the handplay across the door glass, so obviously not what it appeared, and so subtly done it floored me; Eli sitting on the jungle gym (she lives there, you know), legs crossed, barely able to contain the excitment of seeing Oskar coming; and the initial few seconds of the closing scene on the train, when the camera lingers on that shot up the corridor with the open window and the curtains snapping in the wind. The last two almost establish a new noir. Of course I'm only a committed bookworm and sometime crackpot film critic (and this is the only movie I've ever publicly critic-ed). So watch your step or you'll have that stuff all over your shoes (for those who wear them).

Purrr for me, Eli, whenever you are.

[intrige]

Oh you should watch the deleted scenes, I love them to bits!!

Funfact, they originally planned to have Lina voice Eli but very late in production, after it all had been filmed TA decided that Lina's voice was too high, too femenine. Since Eli from the book was more , well,, boyish. So they looked far and wide and found Elif, a girl the same age as lina but with a more.. gender neutural voice. They dubbed it, even made biting sounds with Elif tewing on a hot dog, biting through its skin. One of the sound effects are also when they blink close to camera the soundeffect if two grapes pushed aganst one another. Cool huh!!?

I personally thinks that Elif adds a great depth to Eli. Lina gave the looks, the character, but Elif gave Eli the old soul, the boy. I like that.

[PeteMork]

...The movie is full of truly iconic images. For me the three that are forevermore burned on my brain are the handplay across the door glass, so obviously not what it appeared, and so subtly done it floored me; Eli sitting on the jungle gym (she lives there, you know), legs crossed, barely able to contain the excitment of seeing Oskar coming; and the initial few seconds of the closing scene on the train, when the camera lingers on that shot up the corridor with the open window and the curtains snapping in the wind. The last two almost establish a new noir. Of course I'm only a committed bookworm and sometime crackpot film critic (and this is the only movie I've ever publicly critic-ed). So watch your step or you'll have that stuff all over your shoes (for those who wear them).

Purrr for me, Eli, whenever you are.

Great choices, StrayAway. All three of these scenes are powerful, and have been the inspiration for many threads here. Your enthusiasm is contagious, even for an old-timer like me.

And, I might add, I truly enjoy your fresh insight on our beloved children. (Purr for me too, Eli. Please?)

[StrayAway]

(Purr for me too, Eli.)

...whenever you are.

[StrayAway]

Oh you should watch the deleted scenes...

Hi, Intrige! Nope, not gonna watch it. Not gonna. Nor will I hear it. LA LA LA LA!

I'm completely mystified why a director who shot a nearly perfect movie would even shoot that particular deleted scene in the first place. I've read about that slap. I can't think of a single place in the movie where that scene would work without compromising the whole shebang (burn the field then look for corn, shoot the team to burn the wagon). To me, that's just another case of a guy slapping a girl, apparently for no other reason than just because he can. That still picture indicates where the scene would have had to be placed, but it wouldn't work there or anywhere else because there's nothing in the movie up till then to lead us to expect that Oskar would soon slap the piss out of a creature that could hack his chest open with a handful of loose gravel. It's shorn of all establishment. It's just a big orphan. An abomination. The director did of course discard it in the end, probably just in the nick of time.

Purrr, intrige

[drakkar]

I'm completely mystified why a director who shot a nearly perfect movie would even shoot that particular deleted scene in the first place.

Because they did a good deal of tweaking and balancing to get the end result as good as it became. The scene Intrige linked is absolutely stunning, it is perhaps the pinnacle of acting from Lina in the story. In this scene, she showed acting capabilities, at the age of twelve (more or less), way beyond the bulk of the actors I have watched will reach in their lifetime.
However, keeping the scene would have destroyed the fine balance of the film. After this scene, it would have been impossible to explain, or justify, Oskar's refusal of inviting Eli in the next day. Oskar would have come across as a complete jerk, and the entire story had suffered badly. This scene happened in the book, but had to go in the film.

[StrayAway]

The scene Intrige linked is absolutely stunning, it is perhaps the pinnacle of acting from Lina in the story. In this scene, she showed acting capabilities, at the age of twelve (more or less), way beyond the bulk of the actors I have watched will reach in their lifetime.

That makes it very tempting. I didn't consider that I might miss out on something like that. And I certainly trust Siv's opinion. But I can't watch it. I don't want to see it. I just.. .can't.

Ily


.......
"No, I -I better not look. I just might be in there." (Foghorn Leghorn)

[dongregg]

The scene Intrige linked is absolutely stunning, it is perhaps the pinnacle of acting from Lina in the story. In this scene, she showed acting capabilities, at the age of twelve (more or less), way beyond the bulk of the actors I have watched will reach in their lifetime.

That makes it very tempting. I didn't consider that I might miss out on something like that. And I certainly trust Siv's opinion. But I can't watch it. I don't want to see it. I just.. .can't.

Ily

.......
"No, I -I better not look. I just might be in there." (Foghorn Leghorn)

I agree with drakkar that it is a gem of a scene. Still, Ily, for reasons not necessarily consonant with yours, I have chosen to limit what I want to experience of the JAL world. I don't want to watch LMI or read the novel. I have consciously focused on LTROI (film), the Swedish language, the play (which I will see in February), and the short story, LTODD.

It is a very rich world, and I don't feel the need to bring more into it. I watch the film a lot and share it with others when I can. I showed it to two new colleagues last week. Just turned off the lights, logged into my Amazon account, and showed it streaming in my writing and reseach support lab. I projected it to a big screen using our AV capability.

So, we have the right (and are wise) to choose what the "right one" is to let into our beautiful experience of LTROI.