Arrival: Movie Review

2016, 13+ on Amazon Prime and IMDb 

What a gentle but thrilling ride! This is the alien movie I’ve always wanted, catering to my entertainment palate: violence at a minimum and thought-provoking-ness at a maximum, please and thank you. 

This Oscar-winning film features the arrival of aliens for whom a linguist, Louise Banks, is engaged to communicate while the nations struggle to peacefully cooperate. The plot develops wonder slowly and carefully, navigating how to avoid the same mistakes as the parallels in real history: think recent history’s international tensions and distrust. 

Louise Banks is a mother who has lost a child. She comes in contact with the aliens in the midst of her grief, which leads her on journey in which she may be either a mother or a child in relation to the aliens. 

At first, the question is, “What can an alien invasion offer to real human life, such as Louise’s loss and grief?” The answer is genius and remains central to the entire plot.

Louise’s suffering is palpable, though the viewer wonders whether it will be eclipsed by a sinister turn of events with the aliens. Brilliant tension. There’s irony in how much work it took to develop just the right storyline and characters to answer the above question as the characters, including the aliens strive to develop meaningful, safe communication. As a result, multiple lines of communication happen, not only with the aliens but between nations, coworkers, civilians and military, mother and daughter. 

The characters navigate visual conversations, too, creating or interpreting meaning from images: e.g., TV news, YouTube, memories, and the monolith-like alien ship (think 2001: A Space Odyssey), and the alien language. Louise exemplifies the vulnerability and willingness to trust on the multiple fronts needed to open up meaningful communication. Think Brené Brown’s TEDx talks on vulnerability manifested in story form here. 

Slowly and gently, the theme of time picks up and offers innovative ideas that are sure to please fans of the sci-fi time genre. The aliens offer a non-linear, non-time based language, so Louise must learn new ways to get to know them, as well as to know herself and her fellow characters in this new milieu. 

Meanwhile, the nations are in turmoil trying to figure out what to do with the monolith ships across the globe and whether they can possibly reconcile when the aliens have shut down all lines of communication. Is Earth under attack or not? Can someone offer an effective weapon for protection?

Then the aliens drop the truth bomb: “The weapon is . . .” 

Watch the movie. The answer is so good as it embraces vulnerability and grief and humanness without a physically overpowering superhero or advanced technology to violently force a victory. A beautiful kind of heroism and giftedness.

Review written by: Jazmine Lawrence, Captain (Retired, RCAF), BSc Honours Physics, MA (Theology) student, future sci-fi author