DaViD´82

Can humor go hand in hand with slowly built suspense and a thick, disconcerting atmosphere? Can you combine a sci-fi movie about invasion with questions of faith and destiny? Isn’t there an unwritten rule that “the dog never dies"? If Shyamalan had come up with this concept a decade later, everybody would have laughed at him. But he came up with it at a time when he was unarguably still at his creative zenith and managed to concentrate his talents on making one of the top thrillers of the beginning of the twenty-first century. It has just one weak spot: the very end when he proves once and for all whether or not he was one of those people who believes/hopes that everything happens for a specific reason. I’m not one of them and so in such a well-thought out movie, which to a certain extent Signs is, I felt that the ending (but not necessarily the overall message) was really unsatisfying and, to a certain extent, cheap. If it had been less ambitious and made do with just three (?) days of the first contact through the eyes of a regular family, it would have been more than enough for a good movie.

After seeing the first showing on the day of the premiere, without any prior information this really was a powerful and utterly unforgettable experience. Paradoxically, unlike other Shyamalan movies, this is only watchable twice. After that it just doesn’t work. The Sixth Sense lacks what is to be found in Unbreakable for instance, which reveals newer and newer layers every time you watch it again. The actors, especially Osment, are absolutely convincing and also there is no sense in singing the praises of Night’s directing, which is perfect in every respect. The same applies to the atmosphere. Anyhow, I reiterate that the first time you watch it is an unforgettable experience (but maybe not anymore, because everybody knows what happens even if they haven’t seen it), and so I have no choice but to give it a full set of stars.

One of the least appreciated movies of the past decade which was ahead of its time in many ways. Don’t forget that when it was made, comic book movies were still not taken at all seriously and were like a hot potato in terms of financing and quality, and no big studios wanted to have anything to do with them. If you saw it once and quite liked it, try giving Unbreakable another chance. It’s much more sophisticated than it might seem at first sight. Perhaps you will be surprised by its profoundness; and even if you aren’t, you will at least learn why it’s a good idea to avoid physical contact with others. And I would advise David Dunn never to come visit the Czech Republic. He would most definitely lose his mind upon arrival at Prague Main Station.

A decent film that unfortunately doesn't have the same balanced script in all the stories. It’s almost surprising that they were all shot by the same director.