Happy Monday readers! Last week CT talked about the wonder and heartbreak that was Rogue One. And then we all wept for the loss of Cassian and Jyn again because we are emotionally compromised nerd girls. Today I wanted to talk about one of our favorite movies of last year. I'm following Forrest Whitaker to Arrival.
CT talked about this movie in our top 10 of the year, and it's not surprising that we both fell in love with it. It's scifi, but it's weird and off the beaten path. The whole movie lacks the crisp clean look of a superhero movie, but it's also not dark and shadowy like a lot of alien movies. It feels consistently like a completely realistic drama film, which makes the science fiction elements drive the story in a way that I don't think has ever been done before, and certainly not in an "alien invasion" film.
It was so refreshing to have a movie where the aliens aren't the bad guys. And really, even in the story the other countries and their armies aren't the bad guys either. The aliens in the story are used to show how easy it is to miscommunicate. And the themes of communication and language are all over the film. The characters talk about palindromes and then the music that plays under scenes is a palindromic melody. I know, that's a super nerdy thing to notice but that level of attention to detail is what we live for in films. The director and the writer created an entire alien language. That is some Tolkien level nerdiness.
I also want to take a moment to geek out about the way that this film plays with time. I don't want to give too much away and spoil it for someone, but the story isn't told on a linear timeline. It's a little disorienting but when everything comes together at the end it's in the most beautiful way.
If you haven't seen this one yet, you really need to catch it.
Happy watching,
Little C
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