The Oscars for me, is a very personal story because I've take the academy awards ceremony very seriously ever since I was a little kid. It does not consist of just simply waking up at 4:00 in the morning, trying to stay awake with coffee and energy drinks, it goes far more than that. I get prepared, like a marathon runner before his race or a football player before his final match. I watch all the movies that are nominated before the ceremony. Sometimes, I don’t get to finish them all (thanks to school for that), but the 9 lucky pictures that have a chance to win the price for the best picture of the year are always at the top of my watch list. This year, I have decided to write a small but honest review for each film that is nominated for the best picture award.
I will begin with a film that I was not expecting to get the nomination at all, partly because it appeared to be another cliche alien movie which was promoted all over the Youtube 5 seconds ads. I am of course speaking about “Arrival”, directed by Denis Villeneuve, also known for previously directing “Prisoners” in 2013 and “Sicario” in 2015. That was the first film that I went to see after the nominations were officially announced. It was the only one at the time, playing in my local cinema. So by following my cinema instincts, I decided to spend my Tuesday night in a comfy Cinema chair eating popcorn, rather than doing my Physics lab report.
The movie explores the story of a linguist who gets on opportunity to study the unknown language of new cosmic arrivals from space. It is an interesting story with a very realistic view on the idea of an alien invasion of our planet, something that we have seen millions of times but not in such a unique way. It engages the viewer in different global and international conflicts that our planet could possibly face in case of this unexpected space visit. It takes a more serious approach than a typical sci-fi invasion movie and explores new scientific barriers that might stand between humans and our outer space comrades. For these reasons, it proudly takes the spot on the Oscars nominations list.
At the beginning, I wanted to name all of the flaws that would disturb me during the screening, however the biggest flaw did not come directly from the movie itself but from the advertising campaign that the movie ran. You see, the production designers had created a very unique style to the spaceship and the aliens, in addition the film does a very good job hiding their appearance from the viewers at the beginning of the movie, to build up the suspense for an amazing reveal 20 min in, when the audience are at the edges of their seats. In my opinion it is a shame that the trailer and even the official poster spoils the reveal as it ruins the build up. Although I understand that it would be hard to promote a film about an alien invasion without actually showing any aliens, when watching the film, you really have a feeling that it was not directors intentions to do so. You can see that the director wanted to let the audience question the nature of the new space life form, which did not come out to be so surprising as all the special and unique designs that were showcased in the first theatrical trailer. My advice would be to NOT watch the trailer or look at the poster (if you can) for the film and just simply go to the cinema with a open mind about what to expect.
Now, coming back to positive points. The film is very well shot, the special effects (although there are not a lot) are amazing, the editing, in specific, has a very unique style to it and the performance from Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner is outstanding. Most importantly, it asks all the questions we would ask when facing a similar situation. This film takes a very realistic approach to the problem and this is what distinguishes it so much from other typical space invasion films.
There is a very interesting pattern that has been repeating itself for a while now. If you have not noticed it already, Hollywood, very openly, tries to advertise the idea of going to space and discovering new horizons through one of the most popular visual media in the world. For example last year's “Martian” blew everyone’s mind with its realistic scientific approach to a survival story on Mars. “Arrival” appears to be another masterpiece in the same series of realistic space films. A series which would hopefully push the audience to be more open to the idea of space travel and not being afraid of learning to communicate with other life forms. It is a new wave in the Cinema, a wave which would hopefully inspire a generation of aspiring scientists.
To sum up, watch this film, but DO NOT watch the trailer. If you like “2001 space Odyssey” than you will love this film. If you like learning languages or anything space related than you should put “Arrival” on your watch list. I hope you enjoyed that first review and keep checking the students magazine if you want to learn more about this oscar season.