Story of purpose in life retold in simple but atmospheric way

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2007)

**Contains mild spoilers**
Never mind the patchy logic behind the alien invasion. Never mind the laughable way it is portrayed by news networks in the movie. Never mind the rationale of the actions taken by reverend Graham and his family in this emergency situation.
All the above mentioned elements of the plot (complete with the isolation of a barn-like home next to a cornfield) are merely nice clichÃ©s, familiar for any movie-goer. Can anyone think Shyamalan wants to be original here? No. He just uses these blocks (and in a tongue-in-cheek manner, too!) to create an instant ambiance of suspense and retell a universal story. The story of purpose in life.
Human purpose is an underlying theme in all major works by Shyamalan, Unbreakable and Lady In The Water being his most obvious attempts to elaborate on it. Out of these movies, Signs delivers the simplest and most convincing answer.
Yes, you do have a purpose in life. Yes, suffering through a major crisis gets you closer to it. (In fact, this may be the only way you ever open up your eyes to see.) And yes, at one point, you will suddenly and unexpectedly understand the master plan.
This all is told very simply yet quite powerfully in Signs. And, if you ever get the idea how the whole setting doubles as crooked mirror for cheap pop art (surely easier to realize from a non-American perspective), you are also in for a laughter. Or a grin at least.