Arrival is THE sci-fi film of 2016, presented at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. Although initially (before premiering) viewed with a critical eye, in the following months it has attracted attention and great reviews from film critics all around the world. A film that is so appreciated, even by non-fans of science fiction movies, and that will probably be nominated at the Oscar 2017, and almost certainly it will sign yet another nomination for our beloved Amy Adams.
To the director of “Sicario” Denis Villeneuve goes the gratitude of a masterful job dictated by an impressive image quality, transposition of one of the most famous story of one of the most representative writers of science fiction: Ted Chiang.
At the beginning of the film we see enormous spaceships that have stopped in twelve points of the planet, from China to Pakistan, from Siberia to Nevada, apparently in a random disposition. The story takes place around the one landed in Nevada, where the US military assembles an elite team, led by the expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and Dr. Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), a great mathematician.
Villeneuve accompanies Amy Adams into the discovery of what is hidden inside the alien spaceship and into the sounds and graphic signs that constitute the method of communication of the creatures that inhabit it. And here the question arises: Do the grammatical structure, syntax and phonetics of our language influence the way our brain works and perceives reality, hence affecting essential concepts such as time and space?
But the film is not only about a cold linguistic theory, but a poignant and beautiful story of a mother and a daughter. The director treats the matter delicately, he lets us get involved into the dynamics of a story intrigued by the mystery of life and death, of the years that have passed and those to come and memory values.
On the movie, the actress said: “When I read the script of Arrival for the first time I was very moved by the character of this mother, that made me feel pain and compassion. The moment I finished reading I was so fascinated by the final I started over immediately: I had to read it again from my new perspective. I think I’ve been surprised a lot, and on these days to be surprised by a script is an incredible joy”.
Actor Jeremy Renner, about the subject wanted to add that the moment that has really changed his life was when he became a father, and then, after reading the script, even for him it has a great charm and power: “The moment that has more marked my life was the day I became a father. Being parents is one of the moments that mark your life. But, I would add that, just as my character says in Arrival, are not the important moments that define you but all those moments that come in between”.
Arrival also revolves around another concept – the importance of communication – the way we communicate with each other, the relationships we have, the way we move in the world and, above all, the choices we make.
In short, a science fiction film more than worthy of being placed among this genre’s recent years best such as “Interstellar” or “Gravity“, with an interpretation by Amy Adams not to be missed.
[…] From a science-fiction series of tales by Ted Chiang, “Arrival” arrives on the big screen and leaves without words: we reviewed it for you, go to the page. […]