High-concept science fiction doesn’t always have to explore the future. It can also be used as a tool to twist reality, to observe the human condition under extreme circumstances. Sandcastle is a good example, taking 13 people of various ages and compacting their lifetimes into 24 hours. By visiting a secluded beach, they find themselves in a nightmare world, where time moves so quickly that people age, and ultimately die, in hours instead of years.
The story revolves around the actions of the characters as they try to escape or come to terms with their predicament. We witness the whole breadth of the human condition, from birth, through puberty and adulthood, to death. While the characters mourn the passing of their elderly relatives, they must contemplate their own accelerated mortality, and the mystery of the beach they’re stuck on.
It’s crammed with metaphors of humanity, from a racist distrust of people who are different, through to the hope of more tolerance in future generations. The sexual awakening of puberty and its connection to the wonder of new life is explored. All of life is to be found here, and it’s both disturbing and enlightening to watch it unfold so quickly.
Frederik Peeters’ art is well suited to the piece. His gentle caricatures strike a good balance between realism and cartoon. The style of the art brings out the humanity of the characters and their situation, without abstracting the horror. His faces are emotionally rich, leaving the reader in little doubt of what’s going through their minds.
This is intelligent stuff, beautifully executed, and a showcase of what comics can perform. It leaves too many mysteries unanswered to be a wholly satisfying experience but is otherwise executed with skill, style and aplomb.
Why are you spoiling an upcoming movie in the first sentence of the review without a warning? That really wasn’t necessary…
I don’t think there are any spoilers here. I only mention what the graphic novel is about in order to give people an idea of whether they might want to read it or not. The concept pervades the whole story, it’s not just a description of its final scenes. I don’t know to what extent the movie will draw on its influences but I doubt the broad concept is going to be something that’s crammed into a surprise ending.
Yes, but you didn’t give us a chance to avoid the spoiler by spilling it all out in the first sentence. The director is known for his plot twists as you know.
Because it’s not a spoiler.
Yeah that is not a spoiler, and if it is then why would you actively search for information about the graphic novel a movie is based on? The only one at fault for learning information you did not want to learn is you, its not the author’s fault for publishing something about a piece of work!
This is not a spoiler.. the literal synopsis for the movie, released by Universal is, “This summer, visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan unveils a chilling, mysterious new thriller about a family on a tropical holiday who discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly … reducing their entire lives into a single day.”
No spoilers here, if the trailer did not give away that people were aging rapidly then the official information would have.
Lol, as some have stated, . night shyamalan is so known for his twists….do you really think the twist is them getting old in 24 hours? No it’s not. I mean even the previews show that.