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“A comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth. Instead of its bringing sad and mela...
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“A comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth. Instead of its bringing sad and melancholy prospects of decay, it should give us hopes of eternal youth in a better world."...R Palmer
Member since:13.03.2001
Reviews:33
Members who trust:68
This is the story of a very sad and a deeply disturbed little boy Cole Sears (Haley Joel Osment). His parents are divorced. He misses his father very much. He wears his glasses, with no lenses, to feel his nearness. He asks "did you ever feel the prickly things on the back of your neck?". He says "that's them" . Cole is referring to the ghosts, which he can actually see. He doesn't want to see them, but can't get away from them. He sees the restless phantasms of dead people wandering around. No one understands what he has to say about all these. None realizes what he endures everyday. His classmates in school treat him as a freak. He gets some solace only when he goes to the church where he plays with his toy soldiers.
Written and directed by M Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is an example of excellent filmmaking. It is not a ghost or horror movie, because it allows a human warmth to pervade the drama, without sacrificing the potential for horror. It has, in fact, many chilling and frightening situations, yet, Shyamalan prefers to describe the agony, fears and the helplessness of a little boy, in his own innovative style. The movie attaches the visions of the boy very effectively to our fears after our death. It suggests that the dead are all around us all the time, believe it or not.
Dr Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), a psychiatrist comes forward to help Cole. The doctor, not devoid of his own troubles, shows his dedicated effort to help the boy in distress. He describes what Cole is experiencing as visual hallucinations, hysteria and schizophrenia. But he wonders later that Cole's visions might be more than symptoms of a medical condition.
While telling the story of Cole and Crowe, Shyamalan does not induce horror with violins and percussion. He uses music very aptly. He does not venture to use sound or camera to hype the drama, but instead, unravels the story through its characters.
Osment presents a very memorable performance and shows the confusion and pain of Cole with an exceptional body language. He steals our hearts with his endearing, intelligent and sympathetic portrayal. At this tender age, he has acted like a seasoned pro. Bruce Willis proves that he is very perceptive and restrained, and with the usual confidence, he unveils his talents to act under a different situation. The compassion in his eyes meets the flickering fear of the boy's gaze. Bruce Willis has excelled in this mournful magic.
Shyamalan explains how to cope with horrible mental pain and how to learn to deal with it. He has infused deep pathos, driving everyone to the verge of tears, in engraving the feelings of a boy in untold pain. He switches from a scary and frightening situation to a poignant one within seconds, a very rare combination. He beautifully builds up an unsettling atmosphere with plenty of symbolism and mysticism. He has made it into a thriller, gripping and intriguing, with a solid emotional core.
The film ends up with an unexpected hackle-raising twist, which will make the audience to reevaluate everything that has preceded, in an entirely different perspective. M Night Shyamalan, a major new talent, has a bright future ahead. Let us wish, more such masterpieces will be churned out of his craftsmanship and artistic merit.
Peaceful Viewing!!!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: John Duigan - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Penelope Cruz
I'm affraid my daughter rather spoilt the twist for me as she had seen it before and gave the game away. You on the other end must be commended for not giving anything away...
steffee 28.09.2001 00:15
Great op...you know your stuff. I never remember any of the characters names afterwards.
"I see dead people," whispers little Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), scared to affirm what ... more
is to him now a daily occurrence. This peaked nine-year old, already hypersensitive to begin with, is now being haunted by seemingly malevolent spirits. Child psy...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
"I see dead people," whispers little Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), scared to affirm what ... more
is to him now a daily occurrence. This peaked nine-year old, already hypersensitive to begin with, is now being haunted by seemingly malevolent spirits. Child psy...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
"I see dead people," whispers little Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), scared to affirm what ... more
is to him now a daily occurrence. This peaked nine-year old, already hypersensitive to begin with, is now being haunted by seemingly malevolent spirits. Child psy...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
After the assault and suicide of one of his ex-patients award-winning child psychologist ... more
Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is left determined to help a young boy named Cole who suffers from the same diagnosis as the ex-patient - they both see dead people....
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Very clever plot, unexpected twist, quality and quantity of extra features Disadvantages: If you know the twist in the film, it is not worth seeing
craigy_baby_2000 30.12.2000 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Sixth Sense (DVD)
![The Sixth Sense [DVD] [1999] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/70104378.jpg "The Sixth Sense [DVD] [1999] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]")
![The Sixth Sense [DVD] [1999]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/80416193.jpg "The Sixth Sense [DVD] [1999]")
![The Sixth Sense - 2 Disc Collector's Edition [DVD] [1999]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78535166.jpg "The Sixth Sense - 2 Disc Collector's Edition [DVD] [1999]")
Mar 13th, 2001
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