I don’t think we often tie in the topics of what we cover on the show to a theatrical release. The closest we have ever come to acknowledging the outside world (though I might be wrong) was when we talked about Solo – A Star Wars Story around May the 4th and Alien 3 around April the 26th. But that’s about it. This time we made a conscious choice to tether ourselves to the discourse surrounding the release of Old (brief as it may be in the grand scheme of things) and decided to have a conversation about M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.

Now, I don’t get to say it often (though I did before), but films like The Village are a textbook definition of what our show is supposed to tackle – a movie that was completely misunderstood upon its release and continues to be largely disregarded. In what turned out to be a four hour-long discussion we dug so deep into this film that I don’t think even the staunchest Shyamalan apologists could hold the candle. At the risk of spoiling certain aspects of the conversation, I believe this movie to be M. Night Shyamalan’s most important and best executed movie to date. And I am not alone in thinking this, as you might find out as soon as you listen to the show. It’s a definition of an unsung masterpiece that can perfectly carry itself on the strengths of its superficial storytelling while it can also sustain a multitude of different thematic conversations and readings one might apply to it. It’s a perfect dark fairy tale brimming with directorial subtlety, mystical allure and a carefully hidden aspiration to say something profound about the world at large. And I think we have touched on quite a lot of the reasons that make The Village such a wholesome cinematic experience.

On top of that, Nic and I have also cooked up two feature articles to accompany this show, which expand upon some of the thoughts we had shared during the recording. You shall find them here:

The Village: Using Fiction to Evade Reality (by N. Grasso)

The Village: A Misunderstood Critique of the Upper Classes (by J. Flasz)

In any case, I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as we enjoyed having it!

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