Directed by:
Denis VilleneuveScreenplay:
Eric HeissererCinematography:
Bradford YoungComposer:
Jóhann JóhannssonCast:
Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma, Mark O'Brien, Joe Cobden, Russell Yuen, Nathaly Thibault, Pat Kiely, Julian Casey (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team - led by expert linguist Louise Banks - is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers - and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity. (Roadshow Entertainment)
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Reviews (19)
Lethal Contact. In the past, many giants of the silver screen have tried to convey space, time, size, relativity or being that go beyond the perception through the movie: from Kubrick, Mallick or Zemeckis to Nolan. Sometimes more or less successfully and sometimes absolutely ridiculously. Villeneuve is one of them. Also more or less successfully. The movie tries to use a smart and refined construction (to the extent that it is more interesting in what topics it describes than in the story it tells), a tangible subliminal tension and, above all, an intimate melancholic personal line that would like to raise emotions. And this is exactly the problem to some extent, because in the end it is cold and depersonalized, despite all the efforts. Although stylistically cool and depersonalized, but with regard to what emotions it is trying to raise, there is a noticeable contradiction in that. And even if it's about something completely different, what is a big letdown is that the linguistic line faded away extremely fast. Especially when the original went much further in this respect (Fermat's principle, etc.). SPOILER-like PS: I'm quite surprised that the movie doesn't follow the tradition of Czech and foreign movies and doesn’t immediately reveal the plot by using rather dramatic title à la "Memories of the future" or something similar.
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The Americans have finally decided to shoot a narrative sci-fi movie that, even though it’s lacking action, can still leave such a mark on the sci-fi genre that you’ll never be able to forget it. It even has innovative ideas and premises that aren’t cliché and they’re not based on a brand, unlike the comics movies industry. Arrival is a filmmaking triumph of the year. Not only does it come up with an interesting thought, it also turns it into a whole array of original ideas. For example, for a whole hour and a half, I thought that I was keeping up, but then in the last half an hour, I was completely lost and I had to keep thinking about the movie for the rest of the evening. That hasn’t happened to me in a long time and I’m always glad when it does. I think Denis Villeneuve is one of the most essential American (Canadian) contemporary filmmakers. Plus, I must thank Jóhann Jóhannson, the master of minimalism, for being extraordinary once again and choosing Max Richter to compliment his non-music. As I was saying, a movie that is genius as far as the idea goes, but also the production’s ration of sound to visuals, thus meeting all the requirements for high-quality science fiction.
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I'll probably take some time to figure out if Arrival is one of the best films of the year or the absolute number one, but it was definitely better than I expected. Albeit in a slightly different way. Although the story of humanity's first contact with visitors from outer space works as "science fiction", it's still much stronger on an emotional and personal level. I won't go into some sort of breakdown, but the trailers offered the bare minimum of that layer of Arrival, so the film can surprise quite often, and thankfully always in a positive way. The acting is top-notch and Amy Adams is going for an Oscar nomination. Technically, visually and musically this is an absolute brilliant film that may have been inspired by Nolan somewhere, Malick somewhere and Spielberg somewhere, but overall it holds together without the slightest reservations and can confidently rank among the best that has been made in the smart sci-fi genre. I want to see it again. And Denis Villeneuve goes into my personal top 5.
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Denis Villeneuve is a decent director who tries out different genres (hopefully horror or action will come soon). I liked how the film is quite realistic, the atmosphere of the first hour is nicely unsettling, the acting trio of Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker are great. Unfortunately I found the finale rather unsatisfying, unengaging and emotionally cold. I was also hoping that the aliens would be less friendly. 70%
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I can argue that the screenplay is very stumbling, but I can't deny that one of the best living directors totally mesmerized me. The first third has a tension that takes your breath away (the thoughtfulness of the shots and their composition is far above anything you can see in Hollywood today). The remaining two-thirds can't help but hint at clumsiness and banality, but Young's darkened visuals and ingenious sound design accentuate the supporting emotions of Chiang's masterpiece. It is not a film about a close encounter with creatures from the stars, but about a close encounter with ourselves. With our phobias and mortality. And especially a film about the greatest curse of all - the linear perception of time. The plot sometimes includes phrasing twists and dull side characters, but this deep undertone, which the enchanting Nolan wanted so much in Interstellar, killed me - also because Amy Adams's performance is absolutely disarming. The canary, who accompanies scientific landings in the film as a sensitive sensor, is a good metaphor for Arrival. This film works with such subtle nuances that one can actually overlook them. They are hidden under strong vibrations, but even if they are weak, in the end they exceed everything. The level of expectations towards Blade Runner is reaching maximum. The best sci-fi of the year.
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