I'm sure everyone has been either hearing or watching Dune and Dune Part Two. The latter is one of this year's biggest and best films period. It also happens to be an amazing science fiction film that was made by a director who has been churning out some top-quality films for the last 10 years or so.
That filmmaker is Denis Villeneuve. This Canadian-born man with a French accent has cleared a path in the realm of science fiction movies just the way directors like Ridley Scott have. In fact Villeneuve was responsible for directing a long-awaited follow-up to Scott's acclaimed sci-fi masterpiece, Blade Runner which came out in 1982. His film, Blade Runner 2049 which was produced by Scott himself was one of 2017's most talked about films.
Naturally, with the legacy of the original Blade Runner the fanbase for the film was more than built already and naturally both cinephiles and everyday moviegoers flocked to see this sci-fi gem. But what about a science fiction story that didn't have this kind of fanbase, or legacy? Something new and fresh but still looking deeper into the potential of the genre itself.
This brings us to his 2016 sci-fi gem, Arrival. Starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner with Forest Whittaker, this film isn't short on great acting performances and exchanges on screen. However, unlike the more commonly seen post-apocalyptic sci-fi films we get with all the fighting and killing in a decimated world with so little to fight for, Arrival meets us in the present day when our world is still our world and we are met with the ‘first contact’ with aliens on Earth.
This film is like any good science fiction film, a meditation on how we as humans must fight and learn more about our own humanity even in these larger-than-life worlds. Arrival focuses on Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) who is a linguistics expert and is part of a team who have been tasked with trying to establish a line of communication with the aliens.
The film is non-sequential by design. Drifting into different moments in time throughout the narrative. It can sound confusing to some, but I assure you if you give it a chance it will all make sense. Think less and feel more. Not looking will lead you to the right answer when it comes to films. Great films ask you to surrender control and Arrival is no different.
Language plays a vital part in communicating today as it has for all time. Arrival in many ways shows us how our judgment as humans on the many diverse ways of communicating has limited our understanding of each other. Louise tries initially to speak to the aliens who are known as ‘Heptapods’ in this film, through spoken language like English but to no avail. The aliens appear to use symbols to communicate initially. But even this isn't all that meets the eye.
What follows throughout this film is a profoundly moving discovery of communication that tells us as humans how little of a footnote we are in the ocean of space and time as well as driving home our concepts of fate and destiny while remembering lessons from the past and present, we learn to not allow these to impact our future negatively. Fighting through our fear, understanding pain and embracing it all the same.
That is the true message of Arrival as a film and the genius behind how Denis Villeneuve tells us this story through his visual language. Arrival is an experience like no other. Cast aside your preconceived notions and judgements and allow yourself to embrace this film and its message for the best possible experience.
Mohnish Rajakumaran is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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