Well directed at first sight, brilliant when examined.

Rating: 7/10 (22 August 2004)

This motion picture begins with Mr. Nicholson burying his son, after which the viewer is taken to the ceremonial dinner. As strange sounds come from the woods, only one person, the stupid, gets excited. Then skinned animals being are found. They are firstly said to be killed by coyotes. And that 'those we don't speak of', who keep the villagers from going in the woods surrounding the village, didn't go angry on them. However, some youngsters want to go through the woods to get medicines in towns nearby.
Many, many mysteries live in this remote, 19th century village. Red being the forbidden color and yellow the protective color is one of them. What exactly keeps the villagers from going through the woods is another. As are the skinners, and the colors the blind girl actually can see. And of course, the whole 'why' the village is there. Two young men seem to know things. One of them, the stupid, doesn't really care. The other, Lucius, still has to figure out a lot, but he obviously suspects things. But he gets silenced in an attempt of murder. Piece-by-piece the viewer is fed solutions, but he/she is not always given a clear picture.
----- This thriller/detective is chronological and uses few flash-backs to illustrate some monologues of characters. The director attempts to build up the thrill by various means: well utilized sounds, nice cam-work and editing (e.g. as Ivy stands in the door waiting for Lucius, or, as Ivy runs into the barrier), and slow and slightly static but splendidly teasing plot.
As in a good thriller/detective the viewer is offered fake solutions, e.g. at some moment it is said 'those we don't speak of' are not real, but in a later scene we actually see one of them in the woods.
The theme is the distancy of the village. The viewer must find out why. The motives are: fear (of the outside world), supernaturalness (the view of blind Ivy), knowledge (who are 'those we don't speak of'), red (bad color), yellow (good color), innocence (of the villagers), secrets ( 'sometimes we don't do things we want to do so that others won't know we want to do them'), 'Lucius' (Lat., 'lux', light; as in he sees what others don't), 'Noah' (Hebr. 'rest' / wanderer, as in he wanders where others don't, he's locked up at some point "Lord shut him in" (Gen.7:16). This name is a bit fague, but as is the character), the innocent 19th century (one can read '1840' on a gravestone in the opening scene)
Main characters: Lucius, seems a distant man at first but turns out to be close to Ivy; Ivy, blind but she can see aura's, she's afraid but she withstands her fear and eventually outsmarts her fear; Noah, he's retarded but that wouldn't justify his stunning actions; Mr. Walker, father of Ivy, head of village, he knows it all, at first he's not willing to sacrifice his secrets but when he does, it turns out not to harm them. The characters are round, they have true emotions and they develop them as the movie progresses.
------ Concluding, this tribute to innocence in combination with deep mystery and although having a slightly simple plot it's a worthy thriller. However I would agree with "cozzymo2". The movie would've been even better when the big revelation was postponed. The viewer should not know the truth until it's almost too late. Personal grade: 7/10