The Village
Forum
My brother, and my two best friends and her mom all hated The Village. They said it was the worst movie they have ever seen.
>>By Jane (Saturday, 28 Aug 2004 21:48)
I quite liked it. I didn't think it was fantastic. I thought it had really good twist in the story, when it turned out everyone had been taught to live an absurd lie. It reminded me a bit of The Beach - the whole escaping from Modern Society, but in this case, the younger generations believed they had always grown up in these woods, and could never leave.
The whole Yellow = safe colour, Red = bad colour was good too. The fake creatures in the woods were surprisingly scary at one point. I embarresingly flinched in the cinema lol. It did contain certain aspects of M Night Shyamalan's work, such as the eery absence which hints at danger rather than plain out show it, as in The Sixth Sense and Signs.
I don't think this film is for everyone's taste, it needs a bit of patience in some parts, but all in all, it was enjoyable :)
>>By mathu (Saturday, 28 Aug 2004 23:23)
There is going to be one movie people will be talking about with both positve and negative angles this autumn and it will be "The Village". People may not be able to approach this as a standard Hollywood Blockbuster and those that do will be seriously disapointed. There are no flashy special effects and the plot is very drab. This will automatically send people out of the theatre.
The concept is similar to that in Vincenzo Natali's "Cube". It focuses more on the threat of human nature rather than the "danger" they are presented with. The fake creatures in the woods will give you a few jumps and the eerie sound effects will no doubt give you more than your fair share of gooseflesh.
But the true horror in this movie is the ideology of an anarchistic utopia which goes horribly wrong with man's instinct to survice.
After viewing, whether or not you enjoyed the story, I'm sure you'll agree that The Village is one very disturbing and emotionally unsettling piece of art.
>>By cute_fluffy_death_thing (Sunday, 29 Aug 2004 17:44)
I don't understand how so many people hated this movie. Yet, so many people loved "White Chicks." What a sad, sad time we live in.
So it wasn't "Signs".....give the guy a break. He's probably one of our best writer/directors, besides Tarantino. I love his Hitchcockian style (including his use of the cameo). I enjoyed this movie a lot more than the nausea-inducing camerawork and mind-numbingly uninvolving car chases of the supposedly great "Bourne Supremacy." But that's just MY opinion.
>>By The Walrus (Monday, 30 Aug 2004 18:27)
Apparently, there is supposed to be an underlying association with 9/11 in this film. Did anybody pick up on it? I have some ideas but i'm not sure...
>>By Wiglaf (Wednesday, 1 Sep 2004 22:44)
now you mention it....there is a VAGUE association with 9/11 but please for the love of god, dont let the theory nuts onto it for heavens sake.
>>By cute_fluffy_death_thing (Wednesday, 1 Sep 2004 23:35)
Lol, thats just asking for it now c_f_d_t! I'll make this entry just for you! =)
To fluff:
It could be something to do with escapism and disaster, im guessing, because of the examples of violence and death: the paper of the guy in the guard hut, the stories of the elders, Noah's stabbing, the slaughter of the lambs.
Theres disabitlities seen thoughout the characters of the village, which could be a warning of the future of america and of isolation; e.g. Ivys blindness, noah's mental disorder even joaquin pheonix's character has socialising problems also there are weeknesses in character like Ivy's sister changing love obsession and her husbands protection oh his clothes. - the new generation in thier village isnt a strong one. These disabilites are wrought about from not having experienced the so called "evils" of the towns. The Elders are the wisest, the most knowledgeable because they have lived in the towns. Their attempt to re-colonise a woodland habitat while valid in reasons, for their desire to protect innocence, is flawed for every society must spawn evils to compensate for wat is innocent.
This can easily be compared to the governmental hierarchy... etc While they simply try to protect their citizens, they end up controlling them in the village, with the Red monsters and noises and the like.
Umm, yeh *shrugs*
>>By peachbeach (Friday, 3 Sep 2004 11:49)
Ok, after reading over what i've typed, I think i lost the plot sumwhere..... yerrrrrr
*shrugs again*
>>By peachbeach (Friday, 3 Sep 2004 11:51)
I have a question, how did the blind girl cross that forest?
>>By Vilette (Friday, 3 Sep 2004 15:38)
peachbleach...its a very good observation you've made.
you state that the observation hints towards cause and effect in the regard that one cannot experience order without chaos. that's true alright but you know, that's why they had the dummy "monsters"...to give the new generations a reason to experience fear. they have their lives in the village, that's the way they wan't it.
but this is not the core of the story. it centralises on human weaknesses, how one person's idea of utopia may contradict anothers and how the events leading up to Lucius' injury triggered raw human instinct to survive.
That is the true horror...hiding from the inevitable...illness, injury, even death. The "monsters" were something conjured to protect a way of life. The "towns" were the way of saving life itself. And the two concepts were contradicting each other, proving that the known proverb, "one man's medicine is another man's posion" is nothing further from the truth. And having said that, there are only two certanties in life. Death and taxes.
Simple as that.
Rant over.
Peace out. ^_^
>>By cute_fluffy_death_thing (Friday, 3 Sep 2004 19:24)
yes, but how did the blind girl cross the forest?
>>By Vilette (Friday, 3 Sep 2004 22:05)
"yes, but how did the blind girl cross the forest?"
The same way blind people move about the house, with a cane.
I thought the film was rather shit. It started off great and i was quit interested but about half way through i think they all just said "oh fuck it, i can't be arsed anymore. You lot coming for a pint or what?"
>>By Mickalos (Friday, 3 Sep 2004 22:21)
Vilette: She was told to follow the stream so she listened to the water flowing. Then she was told to follow path which she recognised because of the level of ground or soemthing or another.
>>By Wiglaf (Friday, 3 Sep 2004 22:58)
Yea I saw it yesterday, it was a stoned path and she kicked the stones about. I saw that ending coming from a mile off though.
>>By Mickalos (Saturday, 4 Sep 2004 10:40)
AAAAAAAAAA. I missed the" follow the stream " thing, now I get it!
>>By Vilette (Sunday, 5 Sep 2004 22:00)
It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I expected. I suppose in a way it is a very surprising twist but that, unfortunately, doesn't redeem it.I was disappointed.
>>By salix (Monday, 13 Sep 2004 17:57)
shite ,been told by about 20 people its shite.
>>By justsomeguy (Tuesday, 14 Sep 2004 02:29)
Quite simply awful.
By the way, if nobody went into the forest, who dug the big hole the blind girl fell in?
>>By SteveLB (Tuesday, 14 Sep 2004 21:39)
Ivy is Ron Howards daughter. I thought she did really well, even though the movie was sorta blah. Although, I was holding the movie like a candle next to some of his earlier works.
>>By CherryBombshell (Tuesday, 14 Sep 2004 22:24)
thought it started off well...... was good untill about halfway or so........ then got pretty bad pretty fast....... the "twist" was crap....... could've been a lot better......
*slaps M.N.S*
"don't do that again"
>>By kurn-ell (Wednesday, 15 Sep 2004 06:32)
Good start, but sincerely i got kinda bored, i found it slow, particularly and when i saw the pictures scene, then Ivy gets to the road...then the car..god, i couldn't believe it!. Didn't like it!!
>>By elvenkind (Monday, 27 Sep 2004 18:11)
It's odd ... Some people are really disappointed with the ending, and others think exactly that part is really good. Personally I liked it a lot. But perhaps that's because I liked the film not so much as a horror/thriller kind, but as a psychological study.
Peachbleach ... I quite like your observations about the second generation turning out troubled and weak. You are right, there is something wrong with them, and it is the proof that this sterile and safe environment is not healthy.
The whole concept of people turning away from the 'Bad World' and creating their own 'Good World' is distinctly freaky. It's okay if you choose such a thing for yourself, but if you force your children inside the lie and you do not offer them any choice, you are sick or at the very least obsessed. And in fact the elders are a bit disturbed. They might seem calm and collected, but they have all been traumatised. That's how they met: in therapy. They had all lost a family member in some gruesome and pointless way. When such people start taking action, you're in for trouble.
I also like the fact that Noah was the new 'evil' in this virgin society. He did not know what he was doing (or not quite, at any rate). So, just like the crimes in the towns, he represents blind violence, the kind of evil the elders were trying to run away from.
What most people considered a 'happy ending' is actually also rather creapy. They all decide to continue with their charade. What will happen to these new generations? How will they sustain themselves? If they are ever discovered, you have a Mowgli town, incapable of adapting to normal everyday life.
So you see, I am judging this film from a psychological point of view, and I quite like the idea. I also understand the link with the USA and 9/11, although I am not sure we should really look for it. But there is something to say for the statement that America as a nation reacts very similarly to the people in the village: controlled by their own fears of things that aren't really there, and feeling superior to the entire outside world. Individual Americans certainly don't all react this way, but from abroad they are very often perceived like this.
>>By Aywin (Thursday, 21 Oct 2004 17:43)
Well I thought this film was absoloutly RUBISH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It wasn´t scary and in some parts I could
tell what was going to happen because it was soooooo awfall !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>>By Mizz Sweetie (Saturday, 30 Oct 2004 13:18)
i loved this movie. It was amazing and crazy and weird and lovely.
>>By mellowdreamer (Monday, 1 Nov 2004 02:48)
This movie was OK... I can see how so many people hated it and what not... and I can see how some people loved it.
Shamylan(or however you spell it) would have been better off making the creatures real, while still using the elements of the whole outside world. The only turn off was the fact that the elders of the village paraded about in the cloaks of the monsters, that I found to be so creepy...
But no... it is the way it is, and as it stands I give it 3/5 stars
>>By bagelboy13 (Monday, 8 Nov 2004 03:23)
I enjoyed the movie very much... although it wasn't what most people were expecting, it was cool in its little way... and yes, I understand why most people were disappointed - the publicity made it look like another eery horror movie.
There were many themes in this movie that I found very important - love, for one thing... there were other bigger themes too - I agree with Peachbeach and Aywin. Humans could never create a perfect society --- it's in our very nature to destroy.
>>By Compos Mentis (Monday, 15 Nov 2004 15:27)
I loved it. It was awesome. I screamed when they showed the "monsters" the first time. And then at the end with that twist, OMG!!!! It was freaking awesome, Just as good as "Signs" was.
>>By Dog_loving_girl (Sunday, 5 Dec 2004 05:30)
I didnt much care for this movie, but I'm so used to this director exposing the existence or the possible existence of fantasy monsters. This time he decided to hit reality, and expose the true monsters being ourselves and how we shape society. Brilliant Idea, just not played out too well...
>>By Rosy_Politician (Sunday, 5 Dec 2004 05:51)
good idea, yes........... good movie, not really as Compos Mentis mentioned it was advertised as a scary/frightening monsterish type of film but that was only half the story, i get that they couldn't give away the "twists" in the trailers but they gave the idea that it was a completely different kind of film and as soon as the creatures were revealed as fake i was frankly pretty pissed off and sat through the rest of the film hoping something would redeem it, almost did with the mental guy dressed as what could have been a real one, but no, just more dissapointment
3 out of 10
>>By kurn-ell (Monday, 6 Dec 2004 04:42)
I liked the film. I think it's good!
>>By Miss Krux (Tuesday, 7 Dec 2004 12:27)
The discussion board is currently closed.
|
DISCOVER NEW MOVIES