As the much anticipated/dreaded Blade Runner sequel looms on the horizon, I thought a little review of the director's last film might be in order.
I have been a fan of Denis Villeneuve since 2010's Incendies and this film only reenforced my opinion of what a good director he is. He took an obscure (for the non science-fi literary public) short story and expanded it into a huge storyline driven by very personal, intimate details.
The story itself can be boiled down to a simple "alien ships suddenly appear on earth and a team of people try to communicate with them". What grows out of that simple premise shows how human nature responds to dramatic unknown events but also posits that how we think of time and space is not necessarily how aliens might think of those concepts. In fact they have a completely different way of experiencing the universe. The main character, a translator has to come to understand the aliens by learning how to think like them is our window into that new world.
The film made about 200 million dollars world wide on release, basically the budget of any of the Marvel superhero films but only cost about 40 million dollars - making it a financial hit. This is important because Villeneuve, while showing us some amazing effects and telling a story that is world-wide in its scope - keeps the whole thing intimate, personal and lets us enjoy the mystery of what is going on without having to be distracted by complicated action sequences to bring in a "wider market share". To be frank, the. arrival of aliens on the planet should be interesting enough without having to add needless explosions. In reality, anything smart enough to get here would likely be smart enough to destroy us in a heartbeat. There is military tension and intrigue but it's secondary to the thing that really draws you into the scenario - why are the visitors here? what do they want?
I won't spoil too much but we do get a decent, if not slightly ambiguous answer to those questions and, since this film has some time warping elements to it, there is a paradox that's a little too obvious that the film relies heavily on for it's conclusion. These things are easy to forgive as the lead up and ultimate resolution are so thought provoking and satisfying.
A slower film that is a definite must-see with solid performances and some beautiful effects work that doesn't overpower the story.
(Cinematic has excellent coverage on the effects in issue 150)
2 comments:
Ok, I REALLY liked "Arrival." I was happy to see a movie that had some thought and soul to it amid the general mess of Hollywood. That being said, I have NO interest in the new Bladerunner movie. It already has more blowy uppy than it should in the previews and really, Blade Runner was a perfect moment that did not need revisiting. I clench my teeth every time I see a preview for it.
I saw the little pre-film for the new Blade Runner and it was OK... but did not put any of fears to rest. That film, like close encounters was wrapped up in a neat little bow that does not need to be untied!
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