the happening (the Pixies)...

Rating: Null/10 (8 April 2004)

Since "the Sixth Sense" (1999), M Night Shyamalan has become a respectable filmmaker who continues his exploration of the supernatural. Each new movie is announced like a great event. After "the Sixth Sense" (1999) and "Unbreakable" (2000), "Signs" was released in 2002 and as it was expected the movie was a worldwide blockbuster. A success widely deserved because the less we can say is that M Night Shyamalan's movie abounds in qualities, showing that he is able to go off Hollywood's beaten tracks to develop his peculiar style.
First of all, it is obviously at the level of the directing that the talent of this young director shines. It is a real tour-de-force and the way he shots most sequences can only arouse admiration. It is also useful to add that several pictures are impressive (the air view of the crop circles).
Then, from the beginning, an accumulation of weird details or sequences contributes to creating a disturbing and threatening atmosphere. Furthermore, the whole film takes place in the country and however, you are under the impression to be "in camera".
But the main asset in "Signs" is the following one. Quite obviously, M Night Shyamalan wanted to tell the story of an invasion of aliens on the earth. For this, he almost never leaves Mel Gibson's farm and its surroundings. Everything is suggested, notably through the television and the radio which both play the role of link with the world. Of course, this invasion doesn't spare Mel Gibson's farm, neither the neighborhood. During a big part of the movie, you can feel the presence of the aliens by their sounds, their shadows, you believe you can see them. In another extent, their characteristics, their traits are either supposed, either maintained through the characters' words. At last, the action sequences boil down to the minimum (when an alien grabs Rory Culkin by the nape of the neck, Mel Gibson drops his torch to rescue him and the camera remains pointed at the torch. Mel Gibson's efforts to save his son are suggested by the struggle sounds.
To go on with the assets, we can also take down this one: there's a will to use the special effects at a minimum, especially for the Crop Circles. Besides, the Crop Circles look like the ones you find on the cover of the Led Zeppelin album "Remasters".
There's also another positive point: the presentation of the characters. On this point, M Night Shyamalan clearly distinguishes himself from the other American directors. A lot of them would have first introduced the characters and then would have broached the plot. Not M Night Shyamalan! From the beginning, we get to the heart of the matter and the life of each character (Mel Gibson's family), why they are in the current situation is explained to us during the progression of the movie
At last, there's often a discreet and sustained use of the music that contributes to create highly emotional moments. With all these advantages, "Signs" has all the elements to become a perfect movie. Unfortunately, the movie also contains a few shortcomings that keep it from becoming a masterpiece.
Mel Gibson acts the role of a preacher who gave up his duties following his wife's death. It means that he lost his faith. But at the end of the adventure, he finds it again. In another hand, the two children reminded me of the ones you find in Spielberg's movies. I mean that they are the ones who discover the characteristics of the aliens. Then, I wonder if M Night Shyamalan drew from HG Wells' novel: "War of the worlds". In the novel, the aliens were killed by the microbes of the corpses and here, their "bête noire" is simply water...
Ultimately, in spite of a few weaknesses, "Signs" confirms well a thing: M Night Shyamalan's skill to turn a trite topic into an awesome movie. Highly recommended and we deal with an author we must follow.