"Lady in the Water" DVD

Releasing to DVD next week, "Lady in the Water" highlights director Shyamalon's penchant for faith and values.

Strong allegories and themes make this a great “parable” film to teach values. Originally told as a bedside story to his own children, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan’s "Lady in the Water" is a visually mesmerizing tale of a water-being that is found in the pool of an apartment complex. Many mysteries are uncovered and dangers encountered when treacherous creatures try to prevent the safe return of the character to her storybook world. Releasing to DVD on December 19 from Warner Home Video, "Lady in the Water" is a whimsical and imaginative story with “parables” that can be used to teach values and faith.

Unconventional Academy Award nominated director M. Night Shyamalan has delivered a string of films that are “big on purpose and meaning,” according to the Los Angeles Daily News. His suspense ridden films, like "Signs" (starring Mel Gibson as a Christian pastor), and now "Lady in the Water," demonstrate Shyamalan’s ongoing interest in telling stories with spiritual, moral messages that examine the meaning and value of life.

During the release of "Signs," Mel Gibson was quoted as saying, “The humanity in the film comes from the spiritual element,” and Shyamalan himself was quoted as saying that the scariest thing in "Signs" is that a man could lose his connection with God. Shyamalan says that "Lady in the Water" has similar spiritual qualities: “It had a kind of inexplicable magnetism about it that made it want to be bigger.”

Some commentators within the faith community have already taken notice: “The key to deciphering "Lady in the Water" is realizing that it purposefully seeks to tell the story of Christ within our cultural context,” says Maurice Broaddus of Hollywood Jesus. Similar to the parables that Jesus used in Scripture, Lady in the Water’s portrayal of affliction, healing, and restoration are starting points for a discussion about the journey of faith.

Motive Entertainment, a pioneer in the development, marketing, and distribution of faith-based and family-friendly media and entertainment has developed a number of resources to facilitate discussion materials relating "Lady in the Water" to the preaching and teaching efforts of faith and family leaders and consumers. A resource site for "Lady in the Water" through INFUZE Magazine will include a downloadable study guide (PDF) to utilize the film’s message as a teaching, preaching and outreach tool as well as the official trailer, leader commentary on “how to use the film” and an online promotion through INFUZE Magazine’s official website. To access the "Lady in the Water" resource site, please visit www.infuzemag.com/ladyinthewater.