Fresh, Hot Wastes of Time

Tonight I drank rosewater and ate pomegranites and when the dancer twirled her gold scarf there was a breeze across my shish kebob.

We went to see Signs after dinner. I really, really enjoyed (really!) but I can see why some people didn’t. I’m going to spoil it, so if you want to read about it, highlight the blank area below –

This is not an alien invasion movie. It’s not about humans beating back another race (Independence Day), it’s not about cagey humans getting the better of the naughty aliens (Aliens), it’s not a moral about the dangers of nuclear war (The Day the Earth Stood Still), it’s not about some aliens are good and some are evil (Fifth Element), and it’s not about benevolent aliens trying to further the backwater humans (Contact). This movie is not about aliens in any way.

It is about Christian faith. Mel Gibson’s loss of faith when his wife died and subsequent reaquisition when his son doesn’t die is the sole focus of the film. It’s the cake, the substance, and all that alien stuff is just icing. It’s a beautiful story and gave me goosebumps and made me cry and pump my fist in the air when I saw him in his collar at the end.

The only problem I had with the movie was the gaping, yawning plot hole. Why would an alien intelligence mass forces and resources to invade a planet that was 70% water without first ascertaining that they are deathly vulnerable to it?

M. Night Shyamalan is a genius, as far as I’m concerned. He doesn’t shove points down your throat. You simply must find them out in the due course of events. He leaves you wondering until the time is right to reveal details. There’s no expository “once upon a time” other than a shot at the beginning establishing who the family is.

There are tons of jumps as well as some belly laughs in the movie. Just don’t go expecting “Independence Day”.

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