Amazingly Underrated - Makes other movies look "Primitive" :)

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2005)

Greetings!
Shyamalan has outdone himself on this one - for an unexpected reason. Sure, it has the trademark Shyamalan "twist" ending, but even without that aspect of the movie, something very special was created when "The Village" was filmed.
If I were to recommend that anyone watch this film in any particular way, I would suggest that they completely forget about the director and his penchant for surprise endings and other filming gimmicks, and instead focus on the characters, dialog, and society being portrayed in The Village. Doing so might prove to be very interesting and possibly quite thought provoking.
Several stereotypes are assumed by the viewer when they see the setting of the film - due to the 1890's setting and how we view the era in our modern time. However, watch closely and listen to what the people actually say - and how they interact with each other. You will suddenly realize that the preconceived stereotypes of the 1800's you might have are hollow, and that this is a distinctly different society from our modern notions of frontier American life. Many of the social interactions and ways of speaking with each other, as well as non-religious overtones of the society being portrayed wind up being distinctly "out of place" with the period and intriguingly interesting to view. Within the first 20 or 30 minutes, you know that this is a separatist group that is distinctly different from the rest of 1800's civilization, as the differences and anomalies begin to pile up. Absolutely fascinating.
I feel that this movie is Shyamalan's finest work, with far more depth than any of his previous films (yes - even The Sixth Sense...). The astonishing way in which he has made the village "come to life" and take on a coherent yet unusual social "flavor" is nothing short of utter brilliance... my bowler hat off to Mr. Shyamalan.
Best wishes, Bawko