Lady In The Water

I had only heard strong criticism of this film by M. Night Shyamalan, elaborating on how senseless & idiotic this movie was. Imagine my surprise, then, when I came out of the discount theatre last night, pretty impressed & fascinated by the movie! Granted, I myself had a few gripes against a couple of aspects of the film, but overall I thought it was one of the most poignant & intelligently made films to come out of Hollywood in recent years. The visual beauty & magical quality were astounding, especially in the last 1/2 hour of the film!
I personally felt that the director has done a terrific job in symbolically presenting his main message through this movie....that human beings have become so immersed in their humdrum existence, that they've become almost like robots. They no longer think freely, feel from their hearts, or use their power of imagination. We humans no longer listen to what our hearts say & act accordingly. Particularly fascinating to me were a couple of scenes/episodes from the movie. One of them was the dialogue between Paul Giamatti & Bob Balaban right after the former had a narrow escape from the attack of the vicious beast, and consequently begun to suspect that he wasn't Story's guardian spirit. Balaban, who plays the cynical, all-knowing film critic with a condescending attitude towards fellow humans, makes some derogatory remarks about some film that he's watched recently, saying that it was preposterous that the main characters started expressing their feelings for each other standing in the rain! Giamatti (even in his harried state) has the heart to offer the explanation that this might be symbolic of the purification of the human soul, an interpretation that Balaban predictably sneers at. This scene was important to me at 2 levels: firstly, it was tied in with the main message of the movie that some humans have become completely devoid of feelings & imagination and are totally incapable of appreciating the beauty that surrounds them, while there are a precious few (like Giamatti's character) who still have the humanity & feelings left in them to appreciate the wisdom & value of symbolism. At another level, I interpreted it as the director's (Shyamalan's) message to his detractors. Shyamalan is well aware that his fairy-tale of a film, which requires the power of imagination & deep thought in order to be appreciated, will be dismissed with a wave of the hand as ludicrous by many critics. This scene, put together with the final outcome of Balaban's fate (he was devoured by the beast just when the audience was tempted to consider the possibility of this arrogant, over confident person being revealed as Story's guardian), is Shyamalan's way of saying that ones without any power of imagination & those quick to criticise, have no role in this fantastic story/film of his! Another scene, which at the time of my viewing seemed silly & childish, on further analysis presented a deeper meaning. I'm referring to the scene where the older Korean lady, who narrated the fairy tale that inspired this film, finally decides to tell the story in Giamatti's presence (instead of narrating indirectly through an interpreter). The interpreter (the lady's daughter) had told Giamatti that her mother wouldn't open up to him because she viewed him as an untrustworthy stranger. In order to gain her trust, Giamatti was advised to behave like a small child full of wonder, awe & amazement in her presence. This, to me, was the director's way of saying that in order to be a privileged recipient of the wisdom of this story, one must possess some child-like innocence & willingness to believe in the fantastic elements of this tale. Doubters and naysayers cannot be privy to the truth & wisdom offered by this awe-inspiring tale. In my opinion, these scenes expressed nothing short of cinematic genius. It was so refreshing to finally watch a movie that was so thought provoking and intelligently made! Could've said more, but my computer's started acting up....I'd better log out before I lose all these thoughts that I've poured out in writing.....