http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN13toLMHpE&feature=related

Several days ago, I watched a film named The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis, Harley Joel Osment, and Olivia Williams. Literally, this movie is telling a story of how a child psychiatrist helps a boy overcome his difficulty in dealing with his freaky gift: he sees ghosts and is scared by that. Meanwhile, this film leaves something untold for the audience to ponder, and what I learn from it is, “open your mind and don’t fail your love.” Consequently, when I saw they named it with the Chinese title 鬼眼, I kind of think the film importer is appealing to the wrong market, which the writer and director W. Night Shymalan wouldn't appreciate.

Story Summary

Dr. Malcolm (Bruce Willis), a successful child psychiatrist, gets shot by one of his former patients, Vincent (Donnie Wahlberg), on the night when he and his wife Anna (Olivia Williams) are celebrating the honor he wins as an outstanding doctor. It is not known whether this gunshot has any effect on his affection for his profession thereafter or not, but it does change his relationship with Anna. As a matter of fact, Anna becomes deeply depressed, never looks at, talks to and eats with him anymore; in addition, she sleeps alone and acts defiantly against him when everyday he comes home in the midnight.

In the next fall, Malcolm takes the case of Cole (Harley Joel Osment), who has been bullied by his classmates and getting on the teacher nerves because of his hysterical behaviour. Cole’s single divorced mother Lynn (Toni Collette) loves him very much, but she agonizes over his uncommunicative attitude as well. In an event of bulling, Cole desparately tells Malcolm his secret of being freak: he has been haunted by seeing dead people walk around him. An epiphany comes to Malcolm in the night several days later; he recalls the case of Vincent, whom he carelessly ignores and fails before, and realizes what Vincent has experienced is the similar daunting torture that Cole does now.

On the next day, he tells Cole that the ghosts come not to horrify but just want to say something to him and ask for his helps. This idea leads Cole to a different attitude toward his fear: he begins to face the appalling ability and eventually releases himself from his everlasting agony, which, of course, helps his mother understand him as well, and he becomes a happy, self-confident boy. Meanwhile, Cole suggests that Malcolm regain Anna's affection through communicating while she is asleep.

In the midnight, when Malcolm sits beside Anna's bed trying to express his love for her, he is surprised that Anna is actually missing him much more than ever; it is just because she can’t see him that makes her unable to reach him. All of a sudden, Malcolm realizes he is already dead, killed by Vincent; his soul is thus released and he releases Anna as well.  

Theme

I don’t like ghost movies, not only because they are creepy and I am not stupid enough to spend money to beg people horrify me, but also, there is never anything beautiful and nor do I expect to see anything exhilarating in such movies; I am extremely reluctant to enjoy darkness and ugliness. However, I love The Sixth Sense though it deals with death and ghosts; indeed, I am very touched by it because it actually tells the story of true love rather than horror, and there are at least three love stories in this film.

Dr. Malcolm loves and respects his wife Anna, which I see through the way he looks at her; nevertheless, he is extremely tortured by the feeling that she is leaving him. He does everything jealously to intimidate Anna's affair with other people, and Anna is effectively affected by his malice: she hesitates to accept her boss's love. Whereas, what Malcolm doesn't know is Anna has been afflicted even more by the ever-growing yearning for him. It isn't until the last climax that Malcolm realizes his body does not exist and he then stops obsessing Anna, and that reveals his true love for her.

Cole's mother Lynn is the second love story in this film. Lynn is a single divoced mother with a strong will. She raises Cole by herself, and she tries all she can so not to let her son get hurt. What agonizes her is she can not understand her son's freaky behaviour, and she feels defeated by Cole's uncommunicative attitude. Nonetheless, she never gives up helping and encouraging Cole although she is at great stress of making a living as well. I don't think Cole could have any opportunity to go through his difficulty without Lynn's love.

The final love story occurs in the family of the victim girl. The girl's father's love for her is illustrated vividly in his tear-poured and grief-stricken eyes in the funeral. Moreover, it is even more heart-broken for us to visualize the days he is going to have when he knows it is his wife, the girl's step-mother, who poisons his beloved daughter.

In addition to the love stories, I also learn that we should know we humans have our limitations: what we do or don't see, touch, hear or feel may not be what it really is. For example, the light visible to us is just an extremely narrow range of wave length in the whole electromagnetic spectra, and there exists still much more phenomena, energy and things beyond our eyesight and/or sensibilities, knowledge and imagination. Some other animals can see what we can't, and microwave ovens emit the lightwave invisible but harmful to us to cook; consequently, it is reasonable that some people are gifted to be able to see or feel something which the majority have no sense about, and we should be more unpretentious and keep our minds open to them. It is understandable that our life experiences lead us tend to distrust sophisticated adults, which is the way we adjust to the mean and malicious human world; but, for our beloved children, I don't think they mean to do anything maleficent. And, if we try with heart to figure what's in their minds, we will not regret what we have done on them in the future.

In summary, if any of the audience expects to see any scene terrible or disgusting enough to deserve his/her expense and time watching The Sixth Sense, he/she will definitely be disappointed. On the other hand, I feel sorry for those parents and teachers who miss it just because they are misled by the immature Chinese title.

Setting

The story takes place in the autumn in Philadelphia, the air might not be happy but is definitely clean, the light is not dismal, and the figures of ghost might be a little daunting but are never horrible. I think it is suitable for parents to watch alone or together with their senior high school children. The setting of the film justifies my contention that The Sixth Sense is not a horror movie.

Plot

The climax is at the moment Malcolm sees his wedding ring drop from Anna's hand that makes him wonder why he is not wearing it; all of a sudden, he is shocked by realizing he is not a real body but a ghost: he is killed by Vincent one year ago. He then knows he needs to let Anna go and get her life back, and so he does. 

There are scenes foreshadowing that Malcolm is not a real human. The first hint is the introduction in which he is shot by Vincent; the second clue is revealed by his interaction with other people: he never converses with any person other than Cole, and no any person except Cole seems to see him; furthermore, as he comes home and sits beside Anna, she expires foggy air and holds blanket tighter, which allude she feels cold and it is said every ghost is freezing; finally, Cole tells Malcolm in the hospital that he always sees dead people walk around him. 

Characterization

Malcolm is the protagonist; he has round characters: he is a child psychiatrist, Anna's husband, and a ghost; furthermore, he is a dynamic character: he fails Vincent then determines to help Cole, and he doesn't want Anna to have affair with other person then decides to let her go.

Cole is the antagonist because he is the one Malcolm struggles to help and the relationship between him and Malcolm is the main conflict in the story; he is also a round character: he is Lynn's son, Malcolm's patient, a student and a person who sees ghost; meanwhile, he is dynamic in the story: he is fearful of his gift then he knows how to deal with it, and he doesn't want to tell his secret to anybody then he tells it to Malcolm and his mother.

Anna is a foil of Malcolm, for she behaves like she doesn't love Malcolm anymore and that perturbs Malcolm. She is a static character because her love for Malcolm never dies throughout the story. In addition, she is Malcolm's wife and an employee of a jewel store, and she has a subtle affection for her boss: she is a round character.

Lynn is a foil of Cole because she tries all efforts to communicate with him only to fail. She is static, for she never changes her love for Cole; at the same time, she is a flat character: Cole's mother.

Vincent is a foil of Cole because he is failed by Malcolm, and he eventually kills him; whereas Cole succeeds in overcoming his difficulty through Malcolm's help, and he helps Malcolm deal with his relationship with Anna. Vincent is round character as well: he is Malcolm's patient and he is a killer; he is flat for he suffers from his difficulty throughout his life.

Irony

A successful child psychiatrist fails his boy patient, and the patient kills the doctor who is supposed to help him.

A husband loves his wife so much that his spirit haunts her and keeps her away from seeking happiness.

A mother says to her child that she loves him, but she doesn't believe what he says.

Conflict

The external conflict between Malcolm and Cole is the main conflict in this story; the next is an internal one: Cole versus himself in dealing with his fear. The other conflicts are: Malcolm vs. Anna, Cole vs. Lynn, and Malcolm vs. Vincent; all of these are external conflicts.