Notions of time and memory are a very relevant part of who we are. They help create an understanding of ourselves and how we see the world around us. We perceive the order of life as such that the decisions of the past have a direct influence on our future, following a linear course that is the basis of our understanding of time. It is a concept that is so ingrained in our minds that we do not assume anything to function differently: the future follows the past and the present, end of story. For such concepts to be created and reflections to emerge, however, we also need to have a common understanding of language, of the tools used to convey meaning in different cultures.
In director’s Denis Villeneuve’s latest feature film, “Arrival“, the fabulous Amy Adams (snubbed by this year’s Academy Awards nominations) plays Doctor Louise Banks, a linguistics professor called by the United States government to help understand the language of alien visitors. Twelve mysterious spacecrafts have landed on different spots of the planet. The unknown creatures have not left their spaceships, but their mere presence is enough to send the world into a frenzy state of hysteria and uncertainty, suspicion and belligerence. Communication between the different ships happens in ways we do not understand, the materials that form their spacecrafts are unknown to mankind, so comprehending the nature of their visit to Earth is quintessential to figuring out what to do.
The possibility to establish communication is what makes Dr. Banks and her team so important to this mission. As a language expert, the hope is that she is able to create a connection with the new species, and help governments better respond to the new scenario. Alongside Banks also works physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), a man who believes science, not language, is the cornerstone of civilization.
Science fiction films involving alien species are, by a vast majority, built on the basis of belligerence and competition. Alien creatures, that somehow look strikingly similar to human beings – although mostly deformed and certainly uglier – invade, attempt to dominate, destroy. A battle ensues, laser beams are shot here and there and ultimately, most of the time, mankind survives to live yet another day. To have a film, therefore, that chooses to reject all of this and focus on communication between species, instead, a film that highlights the importance of language and cooperation, is already a very welcome change.
Based on Ted Chiang’s 1998 short story “Story of Your Life”, the film acquires a more metaphysical tone as it chooses to analyze concepts and our own understanding of life, in order to lay out some other possibilities of being. Extraterrestrial portrayal, be it their appearance, behavior or intent, are often analyzed with human life as the basis. During a particular scene, a character asks “why would the aliens send twelve, and not one ship” if their intentions were merely exploratory? Why do we assume numbers means the same in every culture? Why do we assume intent and objectives would be manifested in the same manner? Heck, why do we assume anything at all? Working to break some of these assumptions is already a big accomplishment of this film.
The cinematography by Bradford Young, that in the scenes shot inside the spacecraft evoke the centralized frames of Stanley Kubrick’s films, acquires a very different tone in external takes. Society is not futuristic. In fact, the technologies mankind uses in the film are very similar to what we are familiar with nowadays. Still, the foggy, cloudy aspects of the wide open make one feel, at times, like experiencing a distant dream, accessing a memory stored in one of the corners of our mind. Is it real at all? For his work here, Young received an Academy Award nomination, the first in his category for an African-American man, and grants the film a very recognizable look, even in its sobriety.
By choosing to look at extraterrestrial life, what the film offers is a great opportunity to look closer at ourselves and our own understanding of life, meaning, time. The film’s plot twist, its revelation being gradually done throughout the final parts of the story, raises a series of ethical, moral and spiritual questions that are worthy of consideration – and will not be discussed here to allow the reader the chance to be surprised by the film! Its meditative, inwards looking aspects are what makes this story so relevant. Villeneuve’s film is, above all, a vehicle that wisely used alien allegories to tell a tale that is completely human.
Favorite Quote: “In war, there are no winners. Only widows.”
Director: Denis Villeneuve (also known for “Sicario” and “Incendies”.)
Screen Sequel 