I have seen two good films this week. The first was Ballerina — the documentary about the Kirov ballet in St. Petersburg.

Technically, the film wasn’t anything remarkable. But seeing the Marinsky Theater again brought back memories of the summer — and watching Giselle in its enormously ornamented, almost Baroque interior. Lovely and nostalgic.

Second, I went to see Let the Right One In.

A Swedish vampire movie. But that’s really unfair, since the movie is really about the fragility of childhood — and the ways that a society supports or conceals violence. God, it was beautiful. And sad. And strange. And funny, in places. I guess I’m a sucker for snow scenes. There’s something about having luminous ground that makes winter images so captivating. To me, anyway.