The Village Discussion - ****MAJOR SPOLIERS****

[TigerBear]

Do not read any further if you have not seen the movie yet....
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The Village definitely is a thought-provoking movie. I'm curious how you were affected by the ending?

The surprise ending actually left me a little sad. The question that kept coming up in my mind was, "Is it worth it?". Clearly the founders of The Village had been touched by awful crimes. But in exchange for removing crime from their lives, they also gave up all of the benefits of our modern society - and many of the wonders of the natural world. Most horrifying to me is that they forced their children to live in fear. Having no crime is great, but to force your children to experience chronic stress and fear almost seems evil to me. Did the founders just truly believe that in their case the end justified the means?

DBF's main complaint was that they didn't give their children a choice. At least in Amish society, young adults are giving a choice as to what lifestyle they want to lead.

What, if anything, did the movie leave you questioning?

 

[Grog]

I haven't seen the movie, but have read numerous spoilers before yours giving away the ending, and up until now hoping it wasn't true. I have to admit I am glad I read them as I would have been very upset if I had paid money to see this. I've waited eagerly for this movie for months only to find out it is a glorified Twilight Zone episode. I would have felt cheated as this movie was marketed as a horror/suspense movie. JMHO

 

[Robinrs]

Grog, it's well worth seeing and way more than a Twilight Zone episode. Don't let reviews keep you from seeing it.

Tigerbear, I see it to be a lot like the way we're living in fear in America today. Fear limits us and keeps us "safe", or so we're told. Never forget, fear the enemy, and you won't get hurt.

The movie proves this doesn't work. The parents TRIED something different because they were scared. I've heard so many people say "when I was a kid" or "back in the good old days"... some people truly believe that if they were back there that NOTHING would go wrong. One person said in the movie "I lost one person back there, but four here..", did they really think that death would just GO AWAY?

People use so many ways to keep themselves and their families
"safe"... this movie is using a basic fear and exagerating it to help us see how ridiculous it can be. They also found out that crime doesn't just GO AWAY, either.

 

[TigerBear]

Fear, when there is a real threat, can be a healthy thing. Our society is definitely more fearful than it was 50 years ago, but there is also more violence. I wonder what fears M. Night specifically had in mind when he made this movie? Terrorism? Street crime? Racism? The intolerance of some religious groups? I wonder if this was a post Sept. 11th inspired idea?

 

[Grog]

I'll probably still see it, but I need to re-psyche myself up first as it's definitely not the movie I thought it would be.

 

[Meriweather]

Just got back.....didn't care for it at all.
I didn't like Signs either though.....to each their own.
I did like the first 2 of MNS's movies.....not sure if I want to chance another though.

 

[kayeandjim00]

I go back and forth on how I felt about this movie. It's funny that another poster mentioned the Twilight Zone as that's exactly what my DH said. He liked the movie but did say it was like a Twilight Zone movie. Message Boards on other sites about this movie have pointed out a possible "hidden" political meaning. The "walker" reference being a reference to George W. and the red being "bad" and the yellow meaning "caution" like the colors they use for security warnings. Basically saying that the elders were like the government trying to create an environment of fear. I would have probably never gotten this out of the movie myself so no flames please and I'm not sure if there's any truth to it but thought I would post it for others to think about. I did figure out the ending fairly soon, not exactly as it would play out but the idea that they were more or less living in a compound. Did everyone notice M. Night in the movie - he's apparently been in each of his movies though this time his part was REALLY small.

 

[Tinkbell]

I'm still torn on my opinion of the movie. I thought the marketing was very misleading. I was in the theatre sitting a few rows behind a bunch of 14 year olds who were there expecting a monster movie. Those kids were awful. Throwing popcorn everywhere, talking and laughing loudly. They kept yelling, "This movie isn't scary!", which was horrible because the movie is pretty quiet. It was the first time I had to "shush" people in a theatre. If they knew what this movie was truly about, they would have never been there in the first place. I spoke to some of the adults in the theatre afterwards and they were just as disappointed as the teens in the movie. I think it should have been marketed in a different way. I don't know how because the whole movie revolves around the shock of finding out it's in modern times.

 

[2angelsinheaven]

I also am one of those with mixed views on this movie. I love M. Knight's first two movies, Signs was Ok, The Village I feel like everyone else was mismarketed hence the many let downs. I was expecting a horror flick, but I do prefer Physcho Thillers and such so this is why even though it was nothing like I thought I still enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as the other films of M Knight.
It is scary that these adults where able to put fear into all the children enough to keep their secret safe and then it lead to the death of one of their own because of it.
I thought the acting was great but the movie left me with a feeling of non-closure. I guessed the main theme about 15 minutes into the movie, I figured one of the elders or all of them or even an outside source made this whole monster thing up to keep them there, almost like a Cult or a religion.
I keep reading reviews about obvious signs throughout the movie, but didn't pick up on any, just guessed the theme because of how everyone seemed so much like the Amish or other religions that distance themselfs from society and put fear of technology, etc into their people. No Flames, not dissing the Amish just couldn't think of anything else to compare it to.
And a PP stated something about the government, and although I don't think the movie was meant to make you think of that I did think WOW, the goverment could have that power over us if they wanted as well...
Some good parts, Noah stabbing Lucious (wow how sad), Her feeling the costume (scared the **** out of me), noah being killed and finding out it was in modern times. I was thinking Pilgram times...

 

[Robinrs]

Originally posted by kayeandjim00
I go back and forth on how I felt about this movie. It's funny that another poster mentioned the Twilight Zone as that's exactly what my DH said. He liked the movie but did say it was like a Twilight Zone movie. Message Boards on other sites about this movie have pointed out a possible "hidden" political meaning. The "walker" reference being a reference to George W. and the red being "bad" and the yellow meaning "caution" like the colors they use for security warnings. Basically saying that the elders were like the government trying to create an environment of fear. I would have probably never gotten this out of the movie myself so no flames please and I'm not sure if there's any truth to it but thought I would post it for others to think about. I did figure out the ending fairly soon, not exactly as it would play out but the idea that they were more or less living in a compound. Did everyone notice M. Night in the movie - he's apparently been in each of his movies though this time his part was REALLY small.

I did catch the political meaning, I don't even think it was that "hidden".

I agree, it shouldn't have been marketed as "scary"... too many people expecting to be scared to death when it's mostly a "chick flick"..

What part did M.Night play? I missed him!

 

[ZachnElli]

Dh and I saw it last night and we both loved it. And I did think it was scary as did the woman next to dh who kept screaming and grabbing him! I thought the message was that no matter how hard we try to run from bad things, they can still happen. They tried to get away from the exact same thing Noah did. They thought they were safe from it, but they weren't.

 

[2angelsinheaven]

He was the guy in the gaurd shack, that was looking at the newspaper.

 

[kayeandjim00]

Originally posted by Robinrs
I did catch the political meaning, I don't even think it was that "hidden".

I agree, it shouldn't have been marketed as "scary"... too many people expecting to be scared to death when it's mostly a "chick flick"..

What part did M.Night play? I missed him! [/B]

That's interesting that you said you didn't think it was hidden as some people were posting that it was very heavy handed and I missed it altogether! That happens a lot though.

M.Night was the man reading the paper when the jeep guy went in to get the supplies.

 

[crz4mm2]

So, its NOT a horror flick???? Good. I hate horror movies. I might just see it if its not a horror movie.
I liked Signs alot.

 

[Robinrs]

Thanks, guys! I guess I'll see more stuff when I'm not hiding behind my son's arm!!

I think my mind was still on the "fear" thing and how it controls us, the orange and red warnings we are given regularly and how it affects us all. I ran away from a "not so safe" environment (NY) only to come to a beautiful place that has it's own share of problems. There really IS no way to escape problems, it's always on my mind so that's why I interpreted this message.

My son and I had a long discussion about it after the movie. He repeated the saying "FEAR, False Evidence Appearing Real"... which could be the theme of this movie.

 

[Tinkbell]

Originally posted by crz4mm2
So, its NOT a horror flick???? Good. I hate horror movies. I might just see it if its not a horror movie.

That's another problem with the marketing. Not only are most horror fans disappointed, but non horror fans are missing out on something they probably would love. I bet this movie would appeal to a whole group of people who won't be buying tickets because they don't like scary movies. I really see this movie as a marketing nightmare. I bet it gets a whole new group of fans when it is released on video and cable.

 

[TigerBear]

If Walker is truly a reference to Bush, then is M. Night saying that Bush in trying to do something good ended up doing something bad? That just doesn't completely fit for me. Although the invoking fear to get his mission accomplished does seem to work(Saddam and weapons of mass destruction).

 

[TigerBear]

Originally posted by Robinrs
Thanks, guys! I guess I'll see more stuff when I'm not hiding behind my son's arm!!

I jumped more than than once too!

Anyone else angry when he sent his daughter to get the medicine? Yes, she knew the truth about the monster, but not the reality of the here and now. I understand why he maybe could go, but to me it really seemed like he let his daughter go since she is visually-impaired and would be less likely to figure things out. Or am I just being too cynical?

Anybody wonder why he chose the late 1800's - except to confuse the audience? In the real world, why not stay in the 70's or whatever decade it was? Why change dress and dialect?

 

[Grog]

That's another problem with the marketing. Not only are most horror fans disappointed, but non horror fans are missing out on something they probably would love.

That describes how I feel. If they had marketed it as a movie of a village with a secret, as opposed to a village that is living in fear of the monsters (and the marketing makes them out to be real monsters, not metaphorical ones...i.e. modern society) that surround them, I still would have wanted to see it, but for different reasons.

 

[Tinkbell]

Originally posted by TigerBear
I understand why he maybe could go, but to me it really seemed like he let his daughter go since she is visually-impaired and would be less likely to figure things out. Or am I just being too cynical?

Yeah, he definitely sent her because of her blindness. She could not see the real world and report back to the others. That's why his directions included that her 2 escorts, that ran away, wait for her in the woods.

The thing that bothered me was them thinking that Noah's death was a good thing and made their way of life stronger. I didn't get the politcal meanings some of you did on my first viewing, but I bet this could be some sort of politcal message too.