Visiting Arrival for the second time - and being just as impressed as the first time
Arrival is a film that I think I have watched just the single time. I remember wanting to watch this film in the cinema upon its release. I did. It has never left me since that day. I can remember only one other film that I have felt that way about, and I didn't have the money to do it back then. That other film was The Matrix.
I recently upgraded my TV to a 65" (all the better for playing PS5 games on) - but I haven't really sat down and watched any real theatrical movies or cinema on it. Arrival is the first of many.
It's a wonderful tale about a mother, a linguist, and a series of extra terrestrial objects. It is the story that sticks with you.
Right from the opening, its colour grading, its soundtrack, the banality of a child dying of cancer is all broadcast with a deep blue hue of sadness; before we move to "getting on with life"; and "the day they arrived".
"They" is a series of 12 craft that have dotted themselves around the world. It's aliens, but no one is saying it is Aliens. Our perspective follows that the Americans, investigating the craft that has landed in Montana.
We follow Louise Banks (Amy Adams), who is the foremost expert in languages at a university. She's recruited into helping investigate the "Arrival".
What follows is a visual extravaganza of discovery. It is slow. It is methodical. It is mysterious. While the world goes mad wondering what these "things" are; a group of academics is immersed in the puzzle of their lives; trying to figure out sequences of sound and shape to come into direct communication with the creatures that have emerged.
Throughout the film, we're met with touching moments of memory in the past of our starring linguist. Tender, sensitive moments of a life that was. These touching moments of past inform us how each event in our life shapes how we perceive and understand the next.
It is only at the half way point that we start to get to the guts of the story. It builds and builds; and you really need to watch the film for yourself to understand.
Every scene has purpose. Every line of dialogue is intentional. Each shot is interesting and poignant. It's a crescendo of a cymbal that resonates on and on.
I love this film, and the director Denis Villeneuve quickly becomes the reason why. I watched the Dune film because he was responsible for Arrival. I would have watched that film then tracked down his past work and watched Arrival anyway.
The pacing of Arrival grows momentum as the film nears its conclusion. It's a wonderful sense of urgency that grows suspense, and gives you shivers and hope all at once.
An incredible story. Masterfully told. This uses all the best elements of cinema and writing and combines them together so powerful that you feel perplexed and intellectually incapable of interpreting the dense and beautiful subtext.
If you haven't, go watch this film. I watched it in 4K with 5.1 surround sound in the comfort of my home, but you don't need to do that. Watch it with an intellectual, with a friend, gathered around a smartphone or tablet with a broken screen. I don't care how you watch it. Just do. It will change your opinion on what makes a "good" film. This is a masterpiece.
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Oh yes, I love this film. Amy Adams was great here!
One of the greatest films ever made in the true speculative fiction genre!
I love this movie a lot, I want to watch it again just because, I'm gonna do it. The feeling that it leaves with you it's indescribable, I love it.
It is both a sense of accomplishment and dread. Its a hard feeling to describe.
I absolutely adored Arrival and I was keen to watch it again as well. I didn't understand the negative reviews at the time - I think they just didn't have taste haha.
YOu have reminded me how perfect it was. I was really moved by it.
I never read any reviews. I just thought "this is an interesting, grown up concept, that isn't really formulaic cinema, I must see it"
I don't read them before hand - I usually choose due to the director, content, rumour, preview, and so on. A review usually has too many spoilers. I just read them afterwards to extend my understanding of, and enjoyment of, the film. What did other people see that I missed, and so on?
I do the same! After the fact, look at other reviews to see what I missed - after writing my own, so as to not be influenced by their words!
I usually find that any sci fi, dystopian, zombie flick will always have mixed reviews, because some reviewers don't have a palate for, or understanding of, those genres. If you go by IMDB rating, for example, if a sci fi gets a 6, I'm likely to give it at 7. And anything 6 and above is worth a watch in my experience.
There isn't nearly enough "hard" science fiction out there.
It is an interesting movie, I have to watch it twice to enjoy it properly, the scene I liked the most, was the one they were communicating at the end, when she could understand the alien language.
Yeah, that "embedding" of the language and having it all click is fascinating. She's learning their language as much as they are learning hers.
I remember you mentioning this movie when we talked about Dune.
Exactly. Although he takes his time to show what he want to show - everting has a meaning.
Denis Villeneuve is indeed amazing director. He has great eye for casting too. I love his focus on sound and silence, the wide shots and how he allows the viewer to relax and appreciate not only the beauty of the image portrayed, but gives time to reflect on the story in itself. You are not assaulted by CGI, everything is tasteful and harmonious.
Most importantly, he believes in the viewer. He believes in its attentiveness and intelligence. It seems to me that this value in directors has almost disappeared.
You said it better than I. It's like the comedian pausing for laughter after a joke instead of continuing to ramble. Probably the only difference between a comedy man and a homeless guy shaking their fist at the sky.
The comparison with comedy is madly apt - it is all about timing. If punch line is to late - never works.
That's why they do that thing with the drum, right? What if a drumstick is missing?
Then they have to improvise obviously :D But it will never work that well:)