The price of innocence

Rating: 10/10 (8 August 2004)

The bad reviews coming about this film really surprise me. I admit I'm not good at trying to figure out so-called 'surprise endings', but neither do I want to. I'm a huge fan of Night's because of the way he directs his movies. I love the sub-text, the symbolism, the deliberate way he tells the story. In all his films the creepy/horror factor is only the vehicle for the deeper story, so I never feel ripped off if the 'aliens look fake' etc.
The Village is a love story, and while it's fairly simple in plot, love can also be simple. When you love someone, you'll do whatever it takes to prove it.
I personally don't see the whole 'fearful villagers' thing as something to do with 9/11 or how religious sub-cultures are fearful of the world. That hasn't been my experience at all. The biggest thing I got out of this movie was that people make choices, good or bad, out of love--for each other, for innocence, etc. The characters are good people dealing with dark forces rather than people who seem okay on the outside but are really filled with all kinds of evil and psychosis. One character's outburst speech shows why he made the choice he did, and I understood it, whether or not I agreed with it.
If you want to see this movie, go in open-minded. It's not a horror or slasher pic, it's a love story with an edge of darkness that must be overcome, and the price we put on innocence.