'A Film I Like to Speak of' and Yes, it is meant to be different to The Sixth Sense! (The Village (DVD))

Member Name: loopyloki

Product:	The Village (DVD)
Date:	25/02/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smooth, well put together and chilling.

Disadvantages: Some over blown storylines, squeezed in to explain too much, at times.

I enjoyed this film very much. It sparked a very lengthy debate between me and my boyfriend!

In theory, I would consider this a chiller and not a horror film, an aspect of the film which have confused people when it came to pigeon holing . At rating 12, it is not going to be gory or shocking, so if your looking for an instant blood and guts type of entertainment then you may as well stop reading now. It is based on a very simple and relative horror to our modern age.

As the title suggests, the film is indeed set in a village, circa 1897. Nice and simple. I do not want to give much away, as I feel that most people reveal absurd amounts in reviews. The basic premise of the story, is based on the ins and outs of a village situated nearby the monster riddled 'Covington Woods' or as the villagers call the monsters: 'Those we do not Speak Of'. Life is free and idyllic in this village, there is communication and harmony on the whole between people, save the drills that they have to adhere to and the stories that they hear about these mysterious beings. A neat story unfolds, about a man called Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Pheonix) who asks 'the elders' (or the leaders) of the village to leave for 'the towns' in search of medicines. Death rates are soaring, especially amongst children. This request is bared, even Lucius' mother Alice (Sigourney Weaver) is nervous about the idea.

In any case, parallel to this side of the story, a very deep and dependent love develops between himself and Ivy (Bryces Dallas Howard), a young, tom boy-ish blind girl in the village. They declare their intentions of marriage but this is beset by a tricky turn. A close friend to Ivy and also to Lucius, Noah (Adrien Brody) with very ardent behavioural problems, stabs Lucius.

This event spurns Ivy into action and requests to go in search of medicines both in respect of Lucuis' previous requests to the elders and to save him. And thats all I am going to say for now.

I really liked this film and I really liked the twists. The film opens with a very claustrophobic and tight shot, zooming in through and over the shoulders of the witnesses to a funeral, with a weeping man over a child sized coffin . You are aware that it is in the countryside, in deep greenery but the viewer is instantly cut off from the openness and forced to be voyeur over this sad scene, suggesting already, not only tragedy but ignorance and secrecy. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the fear in which the villagers exist go beyond monsters.

M. Night Shayamalan the director, explores the idea of fear very vividly. The cinematography is lush but without too much Hollywood glare (always a plus for me J ) and is certainly steadier than 'The Sixth Sense'. We often experience the film from the view point of the blind girl, this is regularly highlighted and depicted by sharpening certain sounds in different situations; the flapping of a flag in the wind is often lifted to increase the jarring tensions of certain scenes. Most chillers and horror inclined films are heavily reliant on sudden changes in sound to make the viewer jump. Night manages this very successfully but draws this intention of suspense even tighter together by placing both people, objects and situations into a curiously symbolic patterns whilst handling brave cutting and splicing of scenes, to again, really corner the sense of an unseen secret.

Please, please watch this film, it is certainly food for thought.

Summary: A chilling tale that is closer to our lives then you think!