The Panda Reviews the Movie Shutter Island

Shutter Island is a psychological drama that shows what goes on in a psychotic mind. Leonardo DiCaprio, a U.S. Marshall, investigates the disappearance of a patient in a certain island hospital for the criminally insane. His eventual discovery of the missing patient leads him to make a choice.

It is not the eyes that see, but the brain. That is why even in our sleep there are still visions in our dreams. In the same way, it is not our five senses that feel pain, but the brain. When the pain is too much to handle, the brain creates another universe to protect itself by numbing the physical or emotional pain it feels. This is the reason why people sometimes suffer loss of contact with reality.

The panda likes this movie. First, because it is psychologically interesting. Second, it has the elements of a good story (symbolism, back stories, twists, turns, etc.). Third, it is a complex film that goes beyond the conventional Hollywood  flick. For best results, watch the movie more than once. Quote that stuck -- "Which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die as a good man?" Worth watching? Yes.