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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: The Village
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Jason Black
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1723
From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 07-29-2004 03:21 PM
Without any spoilers revealed I'd dare to say that this film was a thought invoking piece of work to say the least. I just screened it with one of my asst mgr's, excuse me, Staff Leaders, and we both kept thinking aloud as to what, exactly, was happening and why.
The true outcome wasn't one I would have expected, nor did I see it coming, but, in retrospect, it is plausible.
I found myself ready to get up and leave at several points yet, overall, I did think the film was pretty good. The dialouge was a bit rough, but I 'fell into their groove' with little difficulty.
3/5
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Nicole Halper
Film Handler
Posts: 47
From: Plano, Texas, USA
Registered: Mar 2004
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posted 07-30-2004 11:50 PM
Now- I have to say this is a rather interesting movie to go see just after finishing reading One Hundred Years of Solitude.
I also do not think that this was his best film, but I did enjoy it. A lot of people let the theatre saying "That movie was a Terrible waste of time!" See, I think they went in expecting a pure horror flick- but that's not what Night does. He presents a psychological thriller- (even if this one was not AS thrilling)
*spoilers*
So I think he should have had Ivy jump the wall just before the box was opened. It would have been an even bigger shock to see a car pull up than to understand it moments before that. I don't think he gives the audience enough credit. He explains it all, and doesn't leave anything left to wonder about.
Also, I think he needs to move on from RED and COLD. Those were the main motifs in The Sixth Sense, and again in this one.
Though overall I did enjoy the film a lot. I also have to say how much I love that he always involves Philly in his films! Either with the actors, the location of the story- or in this one the filming location and the news paper Night was reading. (I'm biased there)
I think it was better than Signs, but certainly below Sixth Sense. To me Unbreakable is in another category, since it was a bit of a different genre.
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Robert L. Fischer
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 145
From: Montreal, Quebec
Registered: May 2004
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posted 07-31-2004 12:48 AM
*Spoilers abound in this post, I'm sure*
quote: Nicole Halper
So I think he should have had Ivy jump the wall just before the box was opened. It would have been an even bigger shock to see a car pull up than to understand it moments before that. I don't think he gives the audience enough credit. He explains it all, and doesn't leave anything left to wonder about.
I agree with the above statement. Classify this one as "interesting failure." I screened this one with a few co-workers on Thursday night, and I must admit, I found it quite amusing since everyone was expecting something totally different than what it was. It was fun hearing their groans when they discovered the costumes. For once though, I actually called out everything about a movie before it happened. I suspected that it was taking place in modern times as soon as Ivy's younger sister laid in her pajamas crying over her rejection. Something about those pajamas, as well as other set pieces, dialogue, and accents made me suspect early on that they were secluded in modern times, especially when there was a cult reference somewhere in the movie. The problem with the movie is that it has no lasting effect or resolution. Kudos -- to both M. Night Shyamalan and Buena Vista -- for having the bravado to release something different, and, in essence, break many of the rules of good movie making, but as noted before, it's nothing more than an interesting failure.
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Pravin Ratnam
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 844
From: Atlanta, GA,USA
Registered: Sep 2002
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posted 07-31-2004 06:01 PM
I am usually one of the more critical guys of movies here. So let me shock you guys, and say I liked the movie. And I was one of those who felt the ending of Signs is anticlimactic. The only Shymalan movie I really liked was Unbreakable. Sixth Sense was something I liked on the first viewing, but it's not something I wish to see again and again.
Before I get into why I liked it, let's compliment Roger Deakins for some excellent work. He didnt give it that boring muted color look I was expecting. Scenes that needed to be bright and colorful were indeed so. Visuals were not stereotypically drab for a movie of this sort. The technical work in this movie is first rate. My only problem with the movie - Ron Howard's daughter, who did a good job, just didn't seem blind in some scenes.
Also the original title The Woods is a far better title than the Village.
OK semi spoilers and SPOILERS to follow.
The key thing one should avoid while watching this movie is trying to figure out the big twist. Truthfully, there is a surprise, but it is not really a shocking twist. Clues are strewn throughout the movie, and the twist is given away fully to those who didn't guess it at the two thirds point of the movie. When Hurt is shown explaining the whole premise to the daughter so early in the movie, it is obvious the movie is not just about the twist. So I don't understand why people would complain that the twist was obvious or they think the twist was a cheap shot. When every parent makes allusions to some tragedy in their lives, it is so obvious they all lived in the real world at once. At that point, the parents looked like they adopted the trappings of some religious commune with the fear of the unknown being used as a tool to keep members in check. You don't need Hurt opening the trunk to know they all had normal lives in the real world. Don't we see communes in the wilderness where kids are brainwashed by parents who don't want them to contract regular folk for fear of corruption of their views. Hell, even mainstream religion adopts the same protective and fear tactics to a certain extent. Religion uses satan as the bogeyman. But no matter how much one tries to control society , murders will still happen, kids will still want to explore what's out there. It is human nature to try to break the barriers. And I think that's the theme of the movie.
It's a pity Shymalan emphasizes the mystery aspect in the ads and his interviews because it really warps how one approaches this movie. I actually felt this was one of Shymalan's more straightforward movies. It played out like a drama. It's like Richard Kelly and Donnie Darko. I loved the movie until I talked to him and he said he viewed the movie more as a scifi movie than a psychological portrait of a lonely kid. Or Frailty, where the writer insists on the kid being a demon from the beginning. So if Shymalan never intended the themes I took from this movie, that's OK. I will see it my way.
And that final line "those crazy white people" which was supposedly in teh original script. After seeing the movie, I understand why it was in there. If I was passing by that commune, I would have said the same. Too bad Shymalan reshot the ending because of the spoiler and negative reaction on aintitcool.
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Don E. Nelson
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 138
From: Brentwood, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 08-02-2004 05:17 PM
I have to agree with Nicole, I liked this movie and I want to see it again. No, not because like the Sixth Sense, I know know the secret that drives that particular movie. No,.... because this is an exceptionally well made film. Maybe this is a booklovers movie?(84 Charring Cross Road, is another favorite of mine) This movie harkens back to the days of just good screen writing and interesting charachters and dialogue. This is like an extended Twilight Zone episode. I kept wondering how M. Night was going to make his cameo in this movie, since it first appeared to be a period piece,and I loved the way he made his presence known without us really seeing him just like Hitchcock himself did in many of his films. Every shot, edit and camera movement is remarkably well-crafted and places the audience directly into the middle of any given moment. This film is very original, and for that I give it two thumbs up. I have a feeling this film started from the smallest of ideas, maybe just a sentence in a book triggered the concept of The Woods, the original working title. M. Night says he was inspired greatly by Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, I may just have to find a copy and read it. James Newton Howard is my favorite movie composer, listen to the sound track for Grand Canyon, and he did a nice job here.
The Night is still young, his camera is full of film, his pencil is sharp,hardly sharpened much at all, a blank paper lies before him,hardly any words at all have been written on it. 20 years from now, M.Night will definately not be one of.... "Those we do not speak well of."
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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene
Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 08-03-2004 04:58 AM
First let me say that those that were dissapointed in this film have seen too many good scary movies lately and expected the same from this.
Saying that, from what I saw in the previews of this film, and knowning M. Nights films for what they were, I was not surprised very much of what I saw in this film.
Now saying that, let me tell you I really did enjoy this movie. It is done in a more classic form, and less of a current theme of "scare you, scare you, shock you, shock you, scare you, now go home". This movie had more depth than most, and was very well crafted and written.
Now saying that I must tell you that M. Night must stop hoarding control of his movies. Even the best of directors let script consultants and producers help him achieve his vision in the best of ways.
In this film, he squandered away some really neat little plot twists, and some great opportunities to truly get the audience on the edge of thier seats. Just a quick shot here and a short edit there and this film would have had the audience expecting the wolfman to jump out and devour the town through most of the film.
I have always felt that he does in fact squander away the best potentials in all of his movies. I feel that Unbreakable was his best work, albeit extremely slow in pace, it left little to be lost in what the story had to offer.
This film was very good. I caught most of the clues that it was a modern day parable, it was fun to see them, but to tell the truth they should not have been there. M. Night did blow this movie from becoming an oscar contender when he decided somewhere in his life to never let anyone help him.
As far as the music choices, there was a moment when the audience was truly in the throws of heart pounding and then the tone changed and it was all happy, ruining the moment. Happened far too often.
Unfortunately, his movies are done very economically, so studios will never put any restrictions on his movie making. So don't expect him to improve anytime soon. It's sad, really, to think that some of his work could have been revered as some of the most amazing movies ever contrived and produces, and instead will be seen in the history books as just another failed attempt to make classic cinema.
Otherwise, a good film.
Ciao
Dave
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