Arrival

2016

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Netflix says… Confronted by a mass landing of alien vessels around the globe, military leaders seek the help of brilliant linguist Louise Banks in an effort to communicate with the extraterrestrials and determine their intentions.

• Have you seen this one?
• It is kind of brilliant.
• But it can also be confusing if you’re not really paying attention.
• If you’ve only seen it once, watch it again.
• Because it’s in the second viewing that a lot more pieces begin to fall into place.
• Starting out, we’re given the impression that the story is told chronologically.
• It’s not until sometime in the second act that we discover that’s not the case at all.
• I don’t want to give too much away in these bullet points, because I want you to watch this movie and discover its brilliance for yourself.
• Although, you may not think it’s brilliant.
• In speaking with others about Arrival, they either take the same view as I do, or they hate it, thinking it’s too confusing to be at all enjoyable.
• But here’s what I’ll say beyond “it’s brilliant…”
• 12 unidentified objects appear in different locations around the globe.
• Amy Adams’ character, Louise, is an expert linguist who is brought in to help the U.S. government learn how to communicate with the beings inside “The Shell”.
• They want her to find out who they are and why they’re here.
• But, first she has to learn the basics. And figuring out the process of just saying hello is the kind of thing that takes time.
• Honestly, I can’t wrap my head around how you try to translate a written language that, at best, looks like a stain left behind by a cup of coffee.
• Once Louise begins to grasp the alien language, things begin to change for her in the way that she perceives the flow of time.
• Nothing is linear anymore.
• That’s where it can get confusing.
• But, I promise, if you give it a chance, it is a fantastic story.

If you have Hulu, Arrival is available to stream on that platform. Give it a shot if you haven’t before. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy it as much as I do and you won’t fall into the other camp that can’t seem to like it for some reason. But I get it, it’s not for everyone. I’ll be back next week for #73 – Terminator 2: Judgment Day. (See what I did there?) It’s one of those sequels that might just be better than the original.