Arrival

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**An excellent film, where the main theme is not what it seems.** In general, I'm not a big fan of movies involving aliens... in part because they seem extremely unlikely to me (I don't really believe there is another planet with intelligent and skilled living beings like humans, or at least not developed enough to see us visit). However, I really enjoyed this film, which takes advantage of the visit of twelve spaceships from other worlds to make us question the way we view the passage of time and its linear nature. Critically acclaimed, the film received mixed reviews from audiences, with a number of detractors and admirers alike. I personally think the film is good enough to deserve our attention and respect. To understand the script, it is necessary to bear in mind that the main theme of the film is not the spaceships and the alien visit, but Time, the passage of time and the way we look at it. As such, the film uses a non-linear narrative that can sometimes be difficult for viewers to understand: through dreams, the protagonist sees her young daughter, and we are led to think that she dreams of things from the past, and that she is now divorced, and her daughter has died of illness (I think it must have been leukemia). It is only later on that we realize that this is not quite the case… I don't want to reveal much more, but to understand the film, it is necessary to consider these points well. The extraterrestrial visit thus becomes an authentic sub-plot from a certain point onwards, and the real motivation of the visit is closely linked to its language and circular writing. I think I've given enough clues. The advantages of this film being as it is are linked to the reflective and meditative form it takes, which can exasperate those who wanted more action or drama. I can understand that these audiences felt defrauded in their expectations. The slow narrative can sometimes drag on too much, and the film's extremely scientific nature can also make it a little difficult to understand. In the end, the quality of the plot goes downhill, things become something more cliché and predictable, but I saw that as less of a problem. I liked the work of Amy Addams, I think that the actress was relatively ignored by the judges of the Oscars that year, and it would have been fair, at the very least, to be nominated for Best Actress. She did work with soul, heart and commitment. Jeremy Renner also gave us an excellent performance, perhaps one of the best of his career so far, along with “Hurt Locker”. Unfortunately, the good performances end here: there are other excellent actors, but they didn't receive good material. The most obvious case is that of Forest Whittaker, who shone in “The Last King of Scotland”, and had a flat character here, without any development. Even so, he managed to do a lot with the little he was given. Despite only securing one Oscar for Sound Editing, the film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Production Design. I don't know Dennis Villeneuve's work very well, I even have the impression that this was the first film of his that I've seen. So I'm not the best person to rate it. What I can say is that I liked the director's work here: he managed to give feeling and depth to a film that, on the other hand, could have been just an excuse for a lot of visual effects and CGI. The effects are there, the CGI is good, and it works really well, but the movie is more than that! The cinematography is also good, with many blurry scenes that are fundamental to the work of creating and manipulating the environment, with the film becoming increasingly tense and mysterious. The editing was also very well executed, although there were some pacing issues. Finally, a word of praise for Johann Johannsson's soundtrack, and in particular for the choice of the melody “On the Nature of Daylight”, by Max Richter.

Arrival is an attempt to take a more realistic approach to how an alien visitation would play out, especially within global politics. The main thrust is that Amy Adams has to find out what the aliens want before any other country can fuck it up and they did a great job in casting Amy Adams. I'm not usually any more than indifferent of Adams, but she does a great job here with what she's given. Jeremy Renner does as good as Jeremy Renner can do with a character that isn't just stoic bad-ass. I like Renner, but unlike other alien films, Arrival isn't an "alien invasion" movie where he can run around shooting stuff and making quips, so I'm not sure he was the best choice. The only other actor of note is Forrest Whitaker, who does fine, but he has this stupid accent that has no purpose. I had to watch interviews with him to make sure he wasn't just doing an accent every other time and this was his real voice. No, he does some unnatural accent that really draws you out of the film because there is no reason for it. It's not a foreign accent or a regional one (or at least not one that I've ever heard), it's just some made up shit he does for no reason. The plot is fine for where they are trying to go with the story. Personally, there are some tropes that I really fucking hate and Arrival rides on one of the ones I hate the most. I won't say what it is, because Arrival really should not be spoiled, but subjectively it was a stupid bullshit play and it makes things unnecessarily confusing. Arrival is about the aliens coming to Earth, but that serves more as the gasoline that fuels the very human drama that is very dialog driven and much more about Amy Adams than any of the aliens. I'm unclear about how long the movie takes place, but once they establish the motive of the movie, it feels cheap to skip a huge chunk of time and give us a montage of what happens instead of keeping the flow of progression. The movie takes place mostly in Montana and we get some beautiful scenery and the sets are all great. The cinematography has some interesting ideas and they use shots and colors to enhance the plot. not just document it. Hearing the comparisons to Interstellar, I was afraid of how arrogant, indulgent, and pretentious Arrival might be and while I understand now what they were trying to convey with the comparison, Arrival is none of those things. Arrival doesn't pretend that it's more than it is. There are a few story that keep my personal score from going beyond a four, but I don't see how anyone who watches Arrival knowing what kind of movie Arrival is could give it much less. If you put on Arrival expecting Mars Attacks, Alien, Independence Day, or any other sci-fi spectacle films you are going to be disappointed, Arrival is much more of a drama. Sure, it is technically a sci-fi because aliens, but that's not the drive of the film. If you choose to watch Arrival with the understanding that it can be slow and aggravating and has none of the flash and awe of a typical Sci-Fi, but replaces those with authentic characters and drama, don't think you will be disappointed.

Accomplished linguist "Louise" (Amy Adams) is drafted in by the US military to join an international team of scientists charged with trying to communicate with twelve spacecraft that have landed across the globe. Upon her arrival she encounters "Donnelly" (Jeremy Renner) and the pair work on finding a way to talk with "Abbott" and "Costello". These latter two are aliens who seem just as keen to chat back, but finding common terms of reference is nigh on impossible. As they find innovative ways to make progress, we discover a little of her traumatic past and it seems her association with the visitors is heightening her senses and inspiring her imagination. With the global alliance straining and the domestic military champing at the bit, it falls to the couple to avert disaster. It has something of the original "Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) about it, this - as it looks more intelligently at the whole subject of extra-terrestrial life without just focusing on expensive visual effects. Indeed, the artistic design of these effects is really quite effective at illustrating just how blank canvas connections require inspiration and patience - and there are clues for us to spot, too. Adams is at the top of her game here, and with Renner delivering well as a foil and Forest Whitaker taking on the role as the less gung-ho military man ("Col. Weber), this is more a thinking persons sci-fi thriller that keeps us guessing as to the motives of just about all until the denouement. It's a little slow off the mark, but does make you hope that if ET does ever arrive, it is more this kind of welcome it may receive rather than tanks, missiles and ye-ha!

**It was a perfect contact, but troubled at the communication.** The film was decent. Nowadays there are lots of altered versions coming that you won't easily say those are the remakes or reboots or spin- offs or whatever they call them in these days. Like 'Premotheus' to 'Alien', this film can remind you a few titles from the past, but 'Contact' is what the majority of us believes it got inspired. The eight Oscars nominees for the film is insane. I know some people liked it, and the film was good, that does not mean it is an Oscar product. I'm okay with the technical side recognition as it deserved that. So visually it was very good, but not a special effects extravaganza. Just a simple sci-fi drama, with a few thrills, particularly towards the end. When the unexpected visitors from the outer-space land their ships in the twelve different locations on the earth, the humans patiently try to communicate with them to learn their intentions. This story focused on the American soil, where experts are brought in to decode the alien language. How the rest of tale develops was told in the remaining parts. To me it smells like a trilogy. If not, it should be. I enjoyed it, mainly because of being a drama. Sci-fi is always associated with action, adventure and thriller, but this drama was something fresh as per todays computer graphics dominated cinema world. This is particularly for the family and older people like the grownups. Like I said the youngsters love action and violence. So it is a one time viewable film and you will get everything in that attempt itself. _7/10_

Arrival has created the most profound and seamless symbolism, notably through cinematography/imagery, that may have ever been achieved to date in film. On the surface, this appears to be a story about humans making contact with an alien species. For those with keen critical thinking skills, the seemingly foreign creatures at the beginning are not who we initially believed them to be by the end. This film amazingly weaves an abundance of profound images/clues in plain sight. Just like one of those optical illusions, which can at first appear a random assortment of dots. Yet, once your focus kicks in and you seize upon a detailed shape, you suddenly see an enormously complex picture that has been there the whole time, seemingly invisible just prior. As I watched this film, I was curious about the shape of the aliens. They do not really conform to the aesthetic of an advanced species. While I internally wrestled with the purpose of this particular shape... it finally made sense. Boom!! Mind Blown!!!! I've heard people try to reconcile the linear/non-linear information as it unfolds in real time. This is certainly rich for grasping a fuller meaning and added depth. However, imho, the epicenter of meaning in this visual masterpiece begins with the shape of the aliens. If you can unwrap that, you'll become like heroic linguist Elizabeth Banks, and decipher the deeper meaning behind this profound story.