Film Review: Lady in the Water

A quick trip over to Rotten Tomatoes reveals just how poor the critics think M. Night Shyamalan’s new film really is. They call it self-conscious, ludicrous, and lacking in subtlety. They’re exactly right; and that’s exactly what makes Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water not only the best film of the summer, but possibly the best Shyamalan film to date.

In Lady in the Water, Shyamalan has created a fairytale incarnate–an intentionally far-fetched bed-time story that tells itself beautifully. The story begins when a stuttering apartment caretaker named Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) apprehends a mysterious woman, Story, swimming in the complex’s pool after hours. Cleveland learns that Story is a messenger from the so-called Blue World, sent to inspire a young writer (Shyamalan) to create his masterpiece. He also soon discovers that a deviant creature is bent on stopping her.

While the story’s plot does indeed become progressively fantastical, it’s exactly the fantasy that gives the film more substance than anything else in theatres this summer. A winning (and often dichotomous) combination of humorous moments, beautiful camerawork, and the suspense for which Shyamalan is known best ensures the delivery of exactly what every good fairytale must have: a pertinent moral, in this case one that the story’s audience just might not want to hear. Add in brilliant performances by Giamatti and Shyamalan, a poignant score, and some striking social commentary, and the film is easily palatable to anybody with the imagination to remember the uneasy pathos of childhood innocence.

The Last Time I Checked, The World Was Still Round

Maybe I was just being Naïve. Coming to India this summer, I expected things to be different. All I had been hearing is how fast India was becoming the next China.

When I was here six years ago, I was amazed at the high level of poverty and corruption that existed throughout the country. Going from city to city, it was all the same. The basic necessities like food, water, and electricity were scarce. In many of the smaller towns, trash collection was non-existent. My most vivid memory of that trip was visiting the village where my grandfather grew up. He showed me the tree next to the lake he used to sit under to keep cool in the summer. Since then, the tree had been cut down and the lake had dried up and been turned into a landfill.

So you can understand why I would think things would be better, given the country’s impressive 8 % annual GDP growth rate.

Engineering Feat of the Day: Water Bridge

This water bridge/canal now crosses over the River Elbe in a small city near Berlin called Magdeburg. The project was completed to aid in the transport of passengers and freight between East and West Germany, as part of the reuinification effort between the two regions. One question though: Did the bridge’s design consider the additional weight of ship and barge traffic, or just the weight of the water?

Private Indian Healthcare – Not Your Father’s Third World Hospital

The one thing I fear most about travelling in a developing country is getting sick. The image of musty overcrowded waiting rooms and dirty needles stuck in my mind all of last week as I became increasingly ill. What I found, however, was quite unexpected.

Walking into the hospital lobby, I wondered if I was hallucinating. The place looked like the Ritz! Marble floors, large glass windows, and a beautiful receptionist with a big smile greeted me at the front desk. The whole experience was totally painless. Within one hour I had visited the doctor, had a blood test done, picked up my medication in the in-house pharmacy, and was out the door. And the best part? The whole bill (not just the co-pay) for the checkup, blood test, and drugs was under $30!