I want to believe

Rating: Null/10 (31 October 2002)

Science fiction movies basically fall into two categories. The first kind is set in the future and usually develops some sort of fantastic projection of things to come, envisioning the complexities of technological and social evolution of men. Films like Blade Runner, Matrix and Minority Report belong to that category. The second kind is set in the present. It often reflects the interaction between the contemporary everyday life with extraordinary events. This category of science fiction was very popular in the fifties and some of it's emblematic examples are The War Of The Worlds, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and The Day The Earth Stood Still. This is an interesting category of science fiction, for it was often used as a metaphor for social and political criticism.
Some contemporary films follow this line of science fiction. Even Spielberg's ET is a portrayal of a family's inner crisis originated by the absence of the father, that is united by the will to save an external (alien) element. John Carpenter's Starman also revolves around this concept, retaining an obvious criticism to military and political arrogance in the face of transcendent events (as well as being the story of a young woman coming to terms with the tragic loss of her husband).
Signs belongs to this great tradition of humanist sci-fi classics. Once again Shyamalan creates an atmosphere by balancing just the right elements. He makes the viewer wonder, manipulating that intriguing `what if' element. In The Sixth Sense it was: `what if this boy can really see the dead'. Unbreakable had you wondering: `what if this guy really is a super hero'. And now you go again questioning: `what if aliens are really about to invade earth'. I'll get to that later...
There's something refreshing about the way Shyamalan directs and develops his characters. In a time when cinema is so polluted by a video-clip culture, where frenetic rhythm superimposes itself on everything else, it's wonderful to see a young director going back to the basics of storytelling, taking it's time for dialog and dramatic interaction. Signs is a refined piece of moviemaking exactly in the way it balances it's different components, laughter and fear walking hand in hand. Humor is, in fact, used as a form of lowering the viewers guard, expanding the vulnerability for surprise and... revelation.
(spoilers ahead) Right at the start you see the corn field, where the first of many signs Shyamalan sprinkled around this movie will appear. You see it through a window of the house, the window's glass distorting the view to tell you that things are not always what they seem. Apart from the obvious plot-line, Signs is the story of a family traumatized by the death of the mother. When the absurd threat of an alien invasion seems to be turning into a reality, the father figure, Graham Hess, is forced to surpass he's emotionless state and face he's own doubts, his fears, and most of all, what he represents to his remaining family, his children and his younger brother. The isolation of this family turns into a simbolism for the isolation of the individual in a society where even spirituality sometimes takes the form of a consuming product.
There is a cynical debate going on about the religious tone of the story. It's all very silly really (and no, I am not a religious person). No, the way I see it Shyamalan is not trying to brain-wash you. Actually, the sense of religious was even used by Einstein to express the scientific sense of greatness before the transcendency of our limited knowledge of the universe. The wonder of asking one-self `what if there is some kind of intelligent life-form out there, somewhere in the universe' IS religious. Although the film poses the clear question of faith as the belief in God, it is not expressed in an institutionalized manner at all. It doesn't matter if you're some sort of church member or not. The question is `do you believe that the course of your life is driven by some sort of greater direction (God or whatever that means to you), some inner sense that gives you hope and strength when facing the difficult moments of your life, or do you believe that all is cast by chance and that you are all alone in the world.
The way I see it, in the end, it stands for Graham Hess as it stands to us all, that faith isn't really the absence of doubt in considering that God exists, but it is a conscient attitude of will to accept the greatness of the inexplicable in one's life, for wich God is a form of expression. Watching Signs doesn't necessarily makes me a believer in God. But I do like to imagine that, in a misterious way, Hess's wife died for a reason, to give him a message that would, ultimately, save him and his family when facing the greatest challenge of their lives.
If that is a miracle, or not, is something left for you to resolve. As for me, well, I want to believe.