DARLENE GRYMKOSKI writes in defence of ‘Signs’...


I find all of the handwringing and lamentations over "Signs" ridiculous. It is a MOVIE folks, and one meant purely for entertainment purposes. The truth of the matter is, we really do not know who or what creates crop circles. They are a wonderful mystery. We speculate about inter-dimensional beings, the appearance of "orbs" near the formations, as well as possible environmental issues and alien activity, yet we have no definite answers. Do not begrudge Mr. Shyamalan's active, fertile imagination. He is an artist who set out to make a movie about faith, hope, and the magic that connects us all through the seemingly random, everyday events of our lives. The movie is called ‘Signs’ - if you really watched the movie and paid attention, you would know that those signs in Farmer Hess's field were metaphorical, although perceived literally. The corn stalks were bent, not broken, much like Farmer Hess' spirit after the loss of his wife. Get it?

If you want to pan ‘Signs’ for its lack of artistic merit as you perceive it, fine. If you are looking for an insightful documentary about the crop circle phenomenon, then save your money and stay away from commercial movie theatres. If ‘Entertainment Tonight’ makes it a lead story, then it will probably not be what you are looking for.

Lastly, I would just like to say that for those of us who take crop circles seriously and are trying to find the truth, we all need to lighten up and have a sense of humor about ourselves and what we believe. If we let Hollywood based entertainment get us riled up, then maybe we also have a misguided notion about what comprises the truth - it may not be at all what we anticipate, or hope it to be.