La llegada (Arrival)

In the opening scenes we see protagonist Louise Banks raising and ultimately losing a daughter. We then see her lecturing in linguistics in a university; her class seems poorly attended but it soon emerges that there is a good reason for that... news is breaking of the arrival of twelve alien space ships. They are hovering at various points around the world just above the Earth's surface. Louise is approached by Colonel G.T. Weber of the US Military to help them try to communicate with the craft above Montana. Here she is teamed up with scientist Ian Donnelly. Upon entering the ship they meet two seven limbed aliens, dubbed 'heptopods'. It immediately becomes clear that their method of communication is unlike any human language. Gradually a basic vocabulary is developed; then a potentially worrying message is received... it may be an offer, or a threat or just a misunderstanding. Some countries take it as a threat and prepare to attack the crafts above their countries. If peace is to be maintained Louise and Ian will have to decipher the aliens' final message.

If you are hoping for the sort of sci-fi that delivers lots of fasts moving action and sexy, almost human, aliens then you are in for a disappointment. If however you want an intelligent, ideas led story then you should watch this. Most science fiction conveniently avoids the problems of communication with ideas such as 'universal translators', 'translator microbes' of a fish you stick in your ear but this film is all about establishing communications. As such it moves at a fairly slow pace with much of the action set in drab rooms... this doesn't mean it was boring though; I was thoroughly engrossed and the twists, which I won't spoil, surprised me without being too convenient or irritating. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner impress as Louise and Ian and Forest Whitaker is solid in the role of Col. Weber. The rest of the cast is pretty good too. I feared that the ending might not live up to what went before but thankfully it did. Overall a great film that fans of more cerebral sci-fi need to watch... that's not meant as an insult to action packed space operas like 'Star Wars' or the high camp of 'Flash Gordon'; I love those as well!

An intriguing, interesting and original story focussing on Louise Banks (Amy Adams) a preeminent linguistics professor who must lead humanity in communicating with visiting aliens. I think what most caught me surprised that it's so different from all the other scifi alien "attacks" movies - it's not all action all-guns-blazing at the threat - yet, rather a thoughtful humanity driven movie. Amy Adams is amazing as the protagonist demonstrating humanity as well communicating and befriending the aliens' unknown language and the impact it has on her. She carries the movie single-handed. I think it's a very beautiful message about humanity, what's the whole story is about. And tragic, surely, that despite knowing her future and the painful future she will have, she will not change anything. That's a great message. "Despite knowing the journey, and where it leads... I embrace it... and I welcome every moment of it."

I watched this recently again and going a second time around, I appreciated the depth in this film. Arrival probes profound questions about time, language, and human behavior. The cinematography here was also excellent.

As a kid, my dad used to tell me stories at night just like any other dads out there. I grew up, got busy with life but those priceless timeless beautiful storytelling moments that I once shared, that amazed me in wonder, curiosity, imagination and desire to know more..

I know if I think hard enough I might remember some of them, but that's not the point. The point is all those stories had characters and people and objects and places and things that I could either imagine or something that I could picture and understand and visualize in my young mind. If not for those imaginable characters and people, I would have never understood those stories, the true meaning of the story, the actual story behind the story that my dad probably wanted me to understand.

Arrival, for me is such a story. Aliens are just fun characters that help me understand the story so I can actually see beyond it and understand the untold story. You see, the way I understand it is that the director had to dumb it down for us and wrap this movie in a sci-fi genre and add aliens so you could relate it to something you are familiar with and hoped, really hoped that we try to understand the true purpose, the message behind all this. It simply couldn't have been portrayed better than this!

This movie teaches you a lot of things, if you are ready to learn. About 'time' and how much we are bound by it, about life and death, about loving unconditionally, about believing in yourself that everything happens for a reason, and so much more..

Prior to approaching this film, a word of warning that it is what many like to call a "thinking person's sci-fi". If you're going to watch this, I beg that you dedicate your utmost attention to it, as it is truly one rewarding experience, one of the smartest, most well-constructed science fiction marvels of recent years. 'Arrival' is Villeneuve's magnum opus.

Firstly, to put your mind at ease, I won't be analysing the plot, thus avoiding the use of spoilers. This decade, Villeneuve has crafted some fantastic works of art in the form of 'Prisoners', 'Sicario' and now this science fiction gem, and here's hoping his career further develops with more movie masterpieces coming our way. In a world where mysteries remain and the possibility of extraterrestrial life still stands unanswered, 'Arrival' approaches this with it's cliché-free take on the genre.

The relatively unknown Bradford Young provides the film with some of the most stunning cinematography ever conceived, taking advantage of the twilight hour to give the film its somewhat unique look, supported magnificently by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson whose score is both haunting and beautiful. If you're someone looking for a science-fiction tale that keeps you guessing and thinking throughout, with fantastic performances, cinematography, music and near-flawless direction, then 'Arrival' is the film for you. The masterpiece of 2016!