The Forest: When Reality Is Not What It Seems

Unexpected endings seem to be the hallmark of M. Night Shyamalan, the Indian filmmaker who, back in 1999, conquered audiences with The Sixth Sense . After the success of the film starring Bruce Willis and the then-young film promise Haley Joel Osment, Shyamalan tried his luck with other titles such as The Protected (2000) and Signs (2002).

Science fiction, thriller and superheroes took over these films until, in 2004, he surprised again with El Bosque , a film that many identified with terror, but which, in reality, followed in the wake of other feature films by the filmmaker .

In a small Pennsylvania village, an unknown threat lurks in the woods that surround the town. The inhabitants are aware of the dangers of crossing the limits, and they all know the rules well: never wear red, listen to the warning calls and stay away from the forest.

With this premise, Shyamalan drew a story in which nothing is what it seems and in which tension and uncertainty take over the viewer.

A terror movie?

It is true that El Bosque , just by seeing its trailer, can inspire that feeling in the viewer, that of being before a scary movie. However, after viewing it, the doubt assails: what have we just seen? Was it a horror film or the umpteenth staging of Plato’s allegory of the cave?

For this reason, it is not surprising that the reactions are so disparate : on the one hand, the critics applauded the film, although not unanimously; on the other, viewers felt somewhat cheated. Perhaps, the world expected to find itself before the new Psychosis or even before a work in which the paranormal essence of The Sixth Sense was repeated .

El Bosque is not a horror film, although it may draw on the genre’s heritage on more than one occasion. Rather, it is a film that appeals to doubt and calls into question social structures and the limits of knowledge.

Whether or not to leave the comfort zone, to be carried away by the heart instead of by reason, to obey authority or not… These are some of the questions that Shyamalan raises in his film.

I doubt that, at this point, anyone is unaware of Shyamalan’s work, but in order to avoid unwanted spoilers , we warn you that the article could reveal some of the fundamental events of the plot.

From this moment on, you decide whether to stay in the cave or to cross the threshold that will lead you to the blinding light of reality.

The Forest: relationship with the allegory of the cave

Shyamalan stages a place and a series of characters that will immediately remind us of our historical past. A past dominated by mythology and superstition. In the village in question, extraordinary and terrifying events take place linked to the surrounding forest.

Nobody dares to cross it, nobody dares to discover what lies beyond the limits of its borders. The villagers are deeply influenced by the ideas of their leaders and tradition. Somehow, it has been possible to convey the idea that nothing good happens in the city; and, therefore, it is best to stay within the walls of the home.

What if someone dared to cross the border? Despite the fact that, for years, a kind of truce or peace has been established between the citizens and the strange and sinister creatures that inhabit the forest, there has come a time when it is necessary to cross it.

Faced with the serious injury of one of its inhabitants, the only possible solution is to go to the city in search of medicines. The problem is that the city has been drawn, for the villagers, as a hostile world, in which peaceful life has no place.

The color red evokes what is forbidden in the village, the sinister and what we must avoid ; somehow, it alludes to passions, to the irrational over the rational. Meanwhile, yellow rises as the color of protection, as that color that maintains reason and that avoids the terribleness of the forest.

However, if we pay attention to the symbolism of both colors, we will realize that, although yellow may have positive connotations, it gives off a certain halo of mystery, deception and lies. Thus, through the visual, Shyamalan warns us of the deception of his story.

The village is framed within the standards of the nineteenth century, however, the reality is quite different. For this reason, they decide that a blind woman becomes the ideal candidate to cross the limits of the forest and go to the city. A blind person will never be able to portray or provide a clear vision of the outside world, in this way, the figures of power do not risk the truth being discovered or, at least, that is what the governing bodies think.

And the truth is that the village, despite its similarities with past centuries, is at a much closer historical moment. Yes, Shyamalan draws us the cave itself ; and it does so from the point of view of its own inhabitants. That is, of those who avoid the knowledge of reality.

Plato portrayed individuals who believed in the reality that they had before their eyes, individuals who believed in shadows and who, faced with reality, would be scared and would try to eradicate anyone who went against their principles. Shyamalan follows this premise, but endows his protagonist with blindness, thus, the doubt arises and places the viewer in another position.

Fear as the greatest enemy

The Forest  establishes certain parallels with the Platonic cave and, as the Greek philosopher did, lays its foundations in indoctrination and, more specifically, in fear. The human will not want to cross the threshold of reality out of fear, he will prefer to remain in his comfort zone, in that element that gives him tranquility and protection.

Thus, although fear becomes irrational, it rises as one of the bases of the society that Shyamalan raises in his village. After the discovery of light, of which the protagonist is not aware due to her blindness, the viewer will begin to question whether, perhaps, she still remains in the cavern or, in other words, in the dark.

Are we living a deception? Are the rules governing religions, or even society irrational? These are some of the questions we ask ourselves after seeing El Bosque, a film in which nothing is what it seems and in which fear ends up taking over society in order to satisfy certain individual needs.

El Bosque will not be surprising for the most staunch followers of the Indian filmmaker, since they all know perfectly his taste for plot twists, for masked spoilers and for ‘surprise’ endings. However, it is a film that ends up penetrating the viewer, causing him to ask himself some fundamental questions about the society in which he lives.

Between a play of contrasts, light and shadow, forbidden colors and protective tones, El Bosque rises as a mockery of appearances, like a quasi-contemporary cave myth that is confused with terror.

The logical explanation ends up eradicating paranormal terror to finally remind us that there is no greater threat than the human being himself, that there is no greater limit than that of the mind itself and that there is no greater threat and horror than that which comes from authoritarianism. and the imposition of reality itself.