M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" is a unique film, though it has its faults. Set in 1897, "The Village" is the story of a community living in fear of mythical creatures that live in the surrounding woods. They have a truce with these creatures, as long as neither crosses the other's borders. The brooding Lucius Hunt (played excellently by Joaquin Phoenix) wishes to travel through the woods to other towns to get medicine for the village. After his request, strange things begin to happen. The hero of the story is unusual: a blind girl named Ivy Walker (played by Ron Howard's daughter Bryce Dallas Howard).

"The Village" has great cinematography, as do all of Shyamalan's movies. It is a beautiful film with wonderful acting. But, the movie raises many questions that it does not answer and though there is a twist, the ending leaves much to be desired.

I am a big fan of Shyamalan's other works ("The Sixth Sense," "Unbreakable," "Signs") so I really wanted to like "The Village," but we can't have everything we want.