Brilliant!!

Rating: 10/10 (3 August 2002)

**** SPOILER ALERT ***** **** SPOILERS ALL THE WAY *****
For me, the movie Signs' deals with at least three more subjects - apart from the crop-circle mystery. The trailers tell us this movie is about the mystery of crop-circles and who did those. By the middle of the movie, we know it is Aliens who did it. So it becomes an Alien invasion movie from then onwards. In the end it reveals another subject  a preachers journey towards restoration of his faith.
But, there is another subject that lies beneath all this. It is about exploring the role of myths and beliefs in us, and affirming their significance in of our lives. There are several myths and beliefs explored in this movie - including, belief in God, existence of Aliens, kids faith in parents as protectors, reason for the existence of flaws - especially in humans, premonition, purpose behind unexplainable events, purposes of individuals in this world.
Belief 1: Some higher power guides and protects the faithful Graham's faith in God is shaken, and finally restored. His wife's death was a God's test and has a purpose. His brother's swinging away', his son's asthma, and his daughter's dislike for water, Ray's call, and even the threat from Aliens led to restoration of faith and revival of affectionate bonding with his family and fits neatly for him to have faith renewed.
Belief 2: There is life on other planets and Aliens are coming. Morgan's belief in Aliens, and crop circles as signs for their navigation is affirmed beyond doubt. Skeptics (Graham and his brother) who did not believe him got convinced. Several beliefs about Aliens by various characters are explored, questioned, ridiculed and finally affirmed to be true: Aliens exist; they are planning to invade earth; they are using crop signs to navigate; their communication can be heard on radio signals; they don't like places near water. And so on
Belief 3: Some flaws in people may not be what we think they are. Merrill's shaken faith in himself is regained after understanding the purpose of his flaw. Again, seemingly flawed characteristics of Morgan's Asthma and Bo's sudden aversion to water - all have some deeper meaning.
Belief 4: Parents are always there to protect young children. This faith that was shaken in kids because of their mother's death and growing distance from their father, is finally restored and reaffirmed.
Belief 5: Animals and kids have premonition of bad things. Bo was questioned for her sensing something in water but ultimately proved correct. Dogs were correct too.
Belief 6: There is a purpose behind every event and tragedy. Death of Graham's wife, Ray hitting her, and many other events are explored for a deeper meaning.
Belief 7: Every person has some purpose in life - obvious or not so obvious. By the end of the movie, each character gets something meaningful for them. Graham has not wasted his life in dedicating his life to something that he lost faith in. Merrill finds a purpose in swinging away'. Both kids got to know how precious they are for their mother (story of their birth) and father. Even Ray feels some purpose in why the accident happened, uses an opportunity to clear things with Graham, and plays a role in informing Graham about Alien's weaknesses.
Every character brings it's own set of beliefs or myths which are explored, tested, and ultimately, all are affirmed to be true. The beliefs of some minor characters like the military person who believes in Alien invasion tactics, the bookstore owner who thinks crop-circle coverage as a scheme for advertising sodas are also affirmed at a trivial level by subsequent events. Even the pharmacy clerk has her beliefs about sinning affirmed by an authority she trusted.
Am I reading too much into Signs'  more than what there is? May be. Even though I don't believe in most of the stuff he asks us to believe, my faith in Shyamalan in delivering a brilliantly complex movie, which was a bit shaken after reading some reviews, is finally restored and soared to a higher level. If all this is just my own myth, so be it.
On top of this, Signs' defies genre - mystery, suspense, horror, sci-fi, drama, and comedy  all at the same time.