Arrival Review

-


Arrival is one of those few science fiction movies that does not rely on thrilling fight sequences with extra-terrestrials, blood and gore to be engaging. Based on the short story, “Story of your life,” this movie is about a linguistics professor who is asked to interpret the language of the visiting aliens. It is about her efforts to communicate with the alien beings and the life-changing consequences of the contact. Unlike most science fiction films, the premise is original, unusual and intelligent. Being a student of arts and literature, I applaud the director, Denis Villeneuve and writer, Eric Heissere for making a profound science fiction movie that goes beyond the scope of mere technical science.

Learning a new language augments cognitive ability exponentially. This is a proven fact. The movie, Arrival, has taken this fact to the next level. Linguist, Louise Banks, played by Amy Adams, is recruited by the military to interpret the speech of the aliens and initiate communication. She does so, through the pain-staking process of learning and recording their mysterious language. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that this exchange of knowledge between the two species has a much greater impact than simply learning a new language. It has far-reaching consequences that affect not only humanity, but also Reality itself.

Amy Adams does a fantastic job as the insightful linguistics professor. Jeremy Renner plays the affable physicist who takes to the challenge of studying the aliens with the impassioned devotion of a true scientist. The story is, in equal parts, intellectual, poignant and awe-inspiring. On the surface, it makes an engrossing experience that refreshes you with its originality. If you delve into the story, you realize that Arrival draws you in slowly, makes you questions your beliefs and broadens the horizons of your mind.

Rating- 4/5

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Piku Review

-
Image
Piku is a heart-warming movie about the parent-child relationship. Deepika, who plays Piku, does not waltz in with her hair streaming behind her and music playing mysteriously in the background. The movie starts with just another day in the life of a working woman who looks after her aging father. The actors portray the characters beautifully and you easily slip into the story. Throughout the movie we notice small things like the family sitting down and eating together, talking about inconsequential things; the problems with the maid (a situation that we are only too familiar with, eh?); the minor tiffs in the family. Bhaskhor and Piku even discuss his daily bowel movements and the products therefrom matter-of-factly at meal times. Bhashkhor, played by Amitabh Bacchan, is a neurotic and overprotective father who, in his attempts to protect his daughter (Piku) at all times, ends up causing her embarrassment at her workplace and at family get-togethers. However, his charact...
Read more

IT Review

-
Image
The movie IT is a partly scary and partly funny thriller. Now, I know that the combination of fear and humour is a paradox; I mean, isn’t comedy the antithesis of horror? One need only refer to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, to know how a good laugh can wipe out all vestiges of a frightful scare (hint: riddikulus!)  Much to my surprise, I found the horror-comedy of IT quite enjoyable. I wasn’t really expecting to laugh while watching a horror movie. I always thought you only laughed when the film was terrible, like Drag Me to Hell. However, as I watched that fearsome clown in action, there were moments when I looked nervously through squinted eyes and other moments, when the movie coaxed a laugh out of me. Richie, played by Finn Wolfhard, elicited intermittent bursts of laughter from the audience. Pennywise a.k.a. IT, played by Bill Skarsgard, made them gasp in fear. There were scenes of tense silence interspersed with moments of hilarity. The light humour, soot...
Read more

Logan Review

-
Image
It’s telling that the latest wolverine movie is called Logan. It has almost all the characteristics of a classic superhero movie, but it’s so much more. When I sat down to watch the movie, I was ready for action, drama and superhero awesomeness. I was not prepared for depth, maturity and eloquence. It’s a shock to see Logan looking old and weary, it’s painful to see Professor X so incapacitated. It’s difficult to shake off the image of their prior strength, grandeur and invincibility. They hurt in this movie, they feel too tired and old to fight, and yet they do. In this movie, their power comes, not from their mutation, but from their strength of character. In this movie, you see how the superhero suffers and struggles with himself. No matter how powerful they are, how much they have done for humanity and how many bad guys they have put down, life is no bed of roses for them. They hurt, they bleed, they grow weak, but they don’t stop fighting. They do the best they can and liv...
Read more