The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Information at Internet Movie Database
Official Site for The Sixth Sense
Cinema in Focus, a social and spiritual commentary by Hal Conklin and Denny Wayman.
Roger Ebert review - Chicago Sun-Times
Hollywood Jesus visual review
Looking Closer, review by Jeffrey Overstreet, "searching for truth, beauty and meaning in the movies."
Movie Parables review
Review, Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality & Health - Spiritual Practices for Human Being.
"The Sixth Sense, Stir of Echoes, and Finding What You're Looking for in Movies," Steve Lansingh, TheFilmForum: Christian Conversation about the Movies.
Themes
- Afterlife
  - "Ghosts" have unfinished business to complete before they can move on - can communicate with the living.
- Alternate Reality
  - Entrance to alternate reality through doors and windows. (See review at Hollywood Jesus.)
- Children as Mediator Figures
  - Cole is able to talk to and for dead people.
- Courage
  - Cole stops running from the ghosts and turns to face them. (Pulls sheet off and fearfully talks to one.) He finds what they want and helps them, and they become less frightening.
- Despair
  - The scene of Cole's conversation with Malcolm in Cole's living room, beginning where Malcolm makes a game to read Cole's mind, and Cole steps forward when he's wrong and backward when he's right. Ends with, "You're nice. But you can't help me." (DVD chapter 5)
- Faith
  - Coming to new understandings little by little: Malcolm comes to believe that it's possible that Cole sees dead people, and then later comes to realize that he is one of those people, and decides what to do about that. His understanding is increasingly personal, and comes through his relationship with Cole, every bit as much as Cole's "healing" comes through Malcolm.
- Fear
  - "evil" in movie is symbolic of fear, especially fear of relationship. (See director's comments at Hollywood Jesus.)
- Grace
  - Malcolm is given another chance to help "Vincent" and another chance to let his wife know what she meant to him.
- Grief/Loss
  - Major themes of how people handle grief and loss - Cole's loss of his father, Malcolm and Anna's losses.
- Healing
  - The mutual healing between Cole and Malcolm.
- Icons
  - figurines of Jesus and of soldiers, pictures, etc become icons. (See review at Hollywood Jesus.)
- Journey
  - staircase symbolic of journey. (See review at Hollywood Jesus.)
  - Malcolm's journey to make amends in his life and to say goodbye to his wife.
- Light and Shadow
  - many scenes throughout movie of light as good/God and shadow as evil/death. (See review at Hollywood Jesus.)
- Reconciliation
  - The scene between Cole and his mother. His mother is reconciled not only to Cole but to her own mother.
- Redemption
  - Cole/Vincent and Malcolm redeem each other's lives.
- Sanctuary
  - toward the beginning of the film there is a scene where the church becomes the place of sanctuary for Cole. (See review at Hollywood Jesus.)
  - toward the end of the film Cole's mother becomes his sanctuary. (See review at Hollywood Jesus.)
- Seeing/Seeing something differently
  - Malcolm's discovery at the end of the movie.
  - Cole's lens-less eyeglasses at the beginning of the film. Malcolm helps him see in new ways, as he helps Malcolm come to terms with his own situation.
  - "I see dead people. They don't know they're dead. They don't see each other. They only see what they want to see." (Sounds like something that could be said by Jesus in the Gospel of John.)

Index of Movie Titles

Index of Movie Themes