I saw a sci-fi flick called ARRIVAL this week on Amazon. It starred Amy Adams.
To be honest I'm not entirely sure what to make of it.
Even now a day later I'm still unclear as to what was actually going on.
Is it too soon to discuss this movie without fear of spoiling it for anyone?
You are not alone with your misgivings Woodsy. Another great movie concept destroyed by military intervention, just like Avatar.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Arto. I felt that the lead's abilities were rushed towards the end and looked a little odd set against the 'normal' first half of the film. I agree that the militarisation of the whole response was predictable. I came away at the end unsure about the timing: did the ships arrive before or after the child's death?
DeleteThe aliens and the language aspect was surprisingly well realised, but the plot was not properly considered. The pathos and business with the child slowed down the pace and made it all quite depressing. The knee jerk comic book ending was a real disappointment too.
ReplyDeleteI liked the alien ABC too but just didn't get why the lead character was seeing those symbols at conferences and in her classroom? Were they flashbacks or premonitions?
DeleteAt heart, I found Arrival, as a story, a small one. Very ordinary too, about an everyman who saves the world and finds her place in life in the process. The grandiose story frame about the visitors seemed a mere embellishment, not the other way round. In that sense the movie, in my mind, succumbed to the same kind of anthropocentric fallacy as Interstellar did.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that the opening sequence, which is given as a flashback, is really a flasforward of things to come, leads to some interesting questions as well. Would Louise really make those life choices, to choose to have a child with Ian, knowing the tragedy that would ensue for everyone involved?
Also the idea of visitors arriving to mend mankind's path for future use for themselves seems vague. Given they can travel back in time, why not help themselves by changing the course of their own history in a less arduous way?
This ambivalence of time seems to pertain to all aspects of Arrival: On the other hand, time is something malleable, on the other, very rigid and unforgiving.
Great insights Arto. yep, the whole alien arrival/ departure process seemed to be a metaphor for the child's happy life and early death - a bit like ET's effect on the flower in the pot and those around him. Its funny you mention Interstellar. I thought they were similar too in that a young girl's sadness is in the background and the lead's guilt is at the fore. Sort of suggests that aliens are like poltergeists summoned by the emotional mess of teenage girls. It reminded me too of films like Contact and Frequency. I do like Amy Adams as an actress though. There's a seriousness which greatly appeals and her finest hour will always be Louis Lane in Dawn of Justice.
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