23rd September 2004

The Village

The City. Some men lost their brothers. Some women lost their sisters. Many others too lost their close ones. The reason being sought after, money, power, fame and the want of all these came out pronouncedly. And these are the devils ruling…. The City.

Then a few wise men and women came together…..

THE VILLAGE: The Village is a beautiful place. The crops are grown; the cattle are reared; a few wise men and women take care of the people's needs. No one owns anything; money, power and fame are far from this world. There are no fights, no murders, no betrayals, no crime, but……………… there is one danger. And the danger surrounds the Village.

From the woods surrounding the Village, come shrieking sounds of the unknown. The wise men say that they are wild beasts. The people do not speak about them. The people do not grow or possess anything 'red' because that attracts the beasts. The people do not dare to go into the woods (out of the Village).

THE VILLAGERS: On hearing the strange cries from the woods, everyone in the Village becomes tense, except a young man, Nova, who begins to laugh and clap. And it doesn't take us long to realize that he is mentally retarded. Adrein Brody was exactly what Nova has to be and gave his best shot while showing the blood ('red' color) on his hand.

There is this ambitious man, Lucius, who wants to go out of the Village to the City. He is not afraid of the unknown beasts. He is daring enough to cross the woods. Joaquin Phoenix shows Lucius' daringness in his eyes. His words are so sincere and obedient that even the blind can fall in love with him.

And a blind girl, Ivy, dares to go out to the town, all alone, to bring medicine for her wounded lover. The journey isn't an easy one. This is the striking debut of the American actress, Bryce Dallas Howard. Ivy is a blind girl; but Bryce Howard expresses everything with her eyes; and still she is Ivy, a blind girl. She is one sure nomination at the Oscars.

THE WISE MEN: If I am given access to the Oxford Dictionary, I would add Manoj Night Shyamalan to the synonyms of the words: Originality and Brilliance. (That I don't have such access is a different issue!). The original plot and brilliant screenplay surely compete with those of his previous films (The Sixth Sense, The Unbreakable, Signs). And for me, this film goes ahead: the plot leads towards a good solution for the widely distributed problem, and the screenplay of this film is more authentic and has a beautiful poetry.

The Village designed by Tom Foden is a perfect beauty. It was simple and real.

The background score is appealing. The emotions from the violin played by Hillary Hahn told whatever the absence of the dialogue meant.

The rest of the wise men (crew) illustrated their decency.

ENTER THE WOODS: Visit 'The Village' to experience what you are missing in the City. Visit 'The Village' to experience the romance of Blind Love. Visit 'The Village' to experience the thrill and excitement of Entering the Woods.

PURNESH
purnesh_k@yahoo.co.in

More My Movie experiences:

Sriram - Gudumba Shankar
Purnesh - Gharshana
Purnesh - Lakshya
Purnesh - Yuva
Leenesh - Yuva
Kis - Lakshmi Narasimha
Indian Pride - Tagore
Raj - Boys
Phani - Gangotri
Phani - Khadgam
Vikram - CKR
BKR - Indra (Singapore)
Ram - Indra (Dubai)
Ranjeet - Idiot
Rahul - Indra
King Koduri - Indra
Srilakshmi Katragadda - Mitr: My Friend