It Takes "The Village"...
For family movie time, we have "family movies" for everyone, then we have "big kids' movies" which tend to be a little more intense fare, then we have "parents' movies" which are usually big kids' movies that haven't been screened yet. This weekend, we watched "The Village" for a big kids' movie. I had been avoiding renting this, because it had been panned horribly by the critics, and since I think M. Night Shyamalan is one of the five greatest living directors, I really didn't want my assessment of his talent to be diminished by watching a flop. Partially from the encouragement of reading the Thinklings, we rented it. We were very pleasantly surprised. It was a thoughtful, artfully directed movie heavy with symbolism. If that's not your bag, you have my sympathy. In our house we savor good movies like a juicy roast beef, slicing them into small sections and dipping them in Scriptural Worldview Worcestershire so we can enjoy every bite.
This is a significant part of what we do here. We turn everything into an opportunity for discussion, analysis and reflection. I don't mean we over-intellectualize events, I mean we look for spiritual significance in all things. God is the Author of all things. If we believe that, we should live it, and teach our children how to live it, also.
More on how to do this later. I might post more about the movie itself, also. Anybody else see it? What was your impression?
posted by Jeff C @ 7:39 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Come on, call it what it is! We shred movies TO BITS!!!!! :)
I really liked "The Village". I loved that it was so different from what it seemed at first, and what it was advertised as. (I'm really not into "scary" movies or "monsters")
Since it was billed as a monster flick (and since all the critics panned it), I expected to hate the movie. We were all pleasantly surprised. Our discussion (besides enjoying the mechanics of filmmaking: lighting, shot framing, line delivery, sets, etc.) brought up issues of truth, redemption, courage and fear.
I did not feel the end was depressing. Even though the Village's secret is preserved for now, you know the deception will not last. As soon as Lucius is well, and his wife recounts her adventures to procure his healing, he is going through those woods. This is a man who seeks truth. All through the movie, he seeks to expose the truth. He is the first one to express desire to travel to the towns, he boldly steps into the woods to pluck berries of the bad color from the bush, and he implores his mother to open her box of secrets from the past. He even says, when Ivy asks him how he can resist responding in fear, "I don't think of what might happen, only of what must be done." Looking forward from the last frame, truth will win out.
Jim, please understand my husband is an eternal optimist. :) We discussed this at length, as I am/was less inclined to think that truth will win out. He can be pretty persuasive in his bleary eyed hope. ;) (It's one of his most endearing qualities.)
~Jeff's Eeyorish wife
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