Arrival Review

        Denis Villeneuve can do no wrong as of now. So far, he’s a rare director that has a consecutive number of hits. With an impressive streak like that, it’s sort of becoming impossible to even try and rank his films by any means of which one is superior. Some say its his Dune duology or Blade Runner film for instance. As difficult as it may seem, Arrival is one of the best sci-fi films of the 2010s.

1. Modern Day "Close Encounters" 

        If Close Encounters walked, Arrival ran before the firing gun was even gripped to shoot. This is the second time that I’ve watched the film. The first being for a class back at A&M involving philosophy and science fiction films. While I won’t divulge into any philosophical ideas since that’s not what the whole initiative is about. Instead, we’ll talk about how this film is sort of like an heir apparent to Close Encounters. 

        Based on the short story by Ted Chiang, we follow Amy Adams’ Louise, who is a specialist on linguistics. Following the, well, arrival of 12 alien ships hovering above various points on Earth, the military task her and Jeremy Renner’s Ian to uncover and figure out why the aliens are here. The way the film goes about it is utterly fascinating to me. The whole movie is sort of told in a non-linear way. 

        While we see Louise experiencing visions of her and a young girl, then transition to what’s happening as we’re seeing it is ingenious. I can imagine that it was sort of thrown as a red herring since we’re led to believe that it’s in the past. And that having her communicating with the aliens is sort of like the therapy she needs to get over her grief. That isn’t how it goes down. In fact, it’s sort of the opposite with how both Louise and Ian contact with the visitors. 

        I’ll talk about them in a bit, but the film’s most famous part is when they’re communicating with them and trying to transcribe what they’re writing. This is Louise’s movie in a way where it’s never half-baked in the least bit. I just love the rationale and no-nonsense approach she has with the general. Basically, stating that they must teach the aliens what their words mean to get an understanding of why they’re on Earth. 

        I think my favorite scene is when we have Ian narrating in a sort of audio journal of their progress. The soundtrack really conveys just the whole main idea of talking to the aliens and the multiple questions that are brought up aside from the “why are they here?” problem. The music feels like it’s sort of repeating to piggyback on Ian’s own thoughts and the audience’s mind on the whole matter. 

        Aside from that, this is very different from Close Encounters. It doesn’t have the optimistic look of sort of embracing the aliens. Or a moment where we see a malevolence of the invaders like an abduction or seemingly become threatening. The presentation is really grounded with its approach by presenting a “What if?” scenario. We have moments where the other nations are combative and using what Louise thinks is an incorrect way of communicating with the aliens. 

        What I think the main idea that the film is going for is just how humans can’t communicate among themselves. The details of the duo arguing with the military brass further punctuate the theme. Just the inability to communicate among each other cements it since no one is being open with how they’re handling the visitors. Right down to everyone misinterpreting what the aliens say is a “weapon” which sets off a domino effect. I kind of feel that it’s sort of common that when a character has made progress, there’s always an outside force that throws a monkey wrench at it. I get what they’re trying to go for, by I feel that it was forced. 

2. Heptapods

        One would think that what the aliens looked like when both Louise and Ian see them inside their ships would be their bodies. Well, partially in a way. They obviously remind me of an octopus with their legs and how they dispense a black ink that forms a various symbol that means a word to them. As I mentioned earlier, the film literally goes out of its way to show how Louise and Ian manage to transcribe what they’re saying. 

        And it’s not just something where the film is trying to be artistic for the sake of art, we later find out why Louise is being plagued by seeing future events. She’s no Lisan Al-Gaib that’s for sure, or perhaps Villeneuve was sort of dipping his toes into Dune lore before inhaling The Spice. Anyways, I love how when Louise learns her language, she sort of loses her sense of reality since the way the alien’s see time is something that’s constant. No past or present, just happening. 

        Again, I hate to sort of prod Close Encounters again but the film had a unique way of introducing the aliens. Just them simply appearing without any establishing shots of them descending is great. More so how it’s like an inverse where the aliens are presented within the first hour instead of leaving it at the end. There’s no pomp or circumstance but more like, they’re here and that’s it.

        I’ve been thinking further as to why these types of films exist or keep popping up as time goes by. It’s not an entirely new concept since it’s been interpreted at how an advanced civilization has made contact and laid waste to a lesser race. I believe that it’s a horrifying idea by both terror and just general fear since we don’t know how to react. And we have films that sort of prepare us on how to react or expect. The pacifist approach is a sort of comforting thing since there has to be some diplomacy before anyone gets ahead of themselves. 

        Now, the ones people flock to is when the invaders bust out the weapons and we fight. Some are just brain-dead action films that are bottom of the barrel garbage. Though the interesting ones I believe is when there’s an underlying message and just seeing how we survive an invasion. With how it’s presented, the direction can go either way based on interpretation, by either have the aliens be a metaphor or a reflection of how we can be better.

3. Overall

        Arrival is one of Villeneuve’s best films of the 2010s. And overall best film of that decade.