L'arrivo di Wang

Shocked to see mediocre reviews. It's low budget but a masterpiece...no spoilers from me.

This was an interesting take on the aliens versus earth people. You can tell they didn't have a whole lot of money to work with but they did their best.

Oddly compelling low budget Italian sci-fi. The interview scene is over-long and the ending predictable, but nevertheless I couldn't tear myself away. Definitely worth a watch.

Wannnnnnnngggggggg!!! For a budget film which probably cost no more than the price of a latte to make,weve got to give it a little slack.First off it is an engrossing watch,yes the CGI is below standard (price of a latte remember)yes its confined to a single holding room for most of the time,but hell!! it IS thought provoking,it is clever and I must say I couldn't wait to find out what was the end scenario.No its not a mega blockbuster where film fans flock only to be let down by all the hype,its a film which will disappear into the corridors of time ,hardly seen by anyone and that is the sad truth.I gave it a chance,I watched,I enjoyed.Open your mind and let it in,there a far,far worse movie experiences out there than The Arrival of Wang! Weve all seen them.Yes its got flaws,yes its pretty hard watching at times,but stick with it, there are also some great moments as well.It is a great film as it does keep you guessing,the trick is to just remember its a film and my mind was entertained by a budget film,thats why I marked it a solid 8!The end line should be up there with the classic final film quotes!! Its a masterpiece. The question is:Does Wang come in peace? Or does he come to leave earth in pieces? You'll have to watch yourself....................

THE ARRIVAL OF WANG is a little-known, low-budget Italian sci-fi movie about a female translator, fluent in Mandarin, who finds herself undertaking the most unusual job of her career when contacted by a mysterious government branch. It starts off promisingly, provoking a sense of mystery and foreboding with its 'dark room' premise, but sadly it gets more and more ridiculous as the story progresses.

The main problem I had with the production is its reliance on CGI effects which look fairly ridiculous. A key twist early on had me bursting into laughter rather than being frightened as the female lead was. This transforms it into nothing more than an extended episode of THE OUTER LIMITS (circa 1990s), one which feels dragged out in places. Little happens, and when it's all over you wonder how they managed to fill the running time out.

There are some decent scenes and elements here, including a torture sequence or two which prove to be fairly hard-hitting, but I did find the story falling apart as the finishing line approached. The twist ending is anything but surprising, while the acting is little to write home about. It is a shame, because I believe with tighter realism and more focus on the human aspects of the tale this could have been great rather than average.

It would be easy to be jaded about a film like this as we've all become so used to big-budget special effects, especially in fantascienza films. And, yes, it does meander a bit in the beginning before it starts getting interesting. But the performances of the main characters are spectacular, and there's a neat twist at the end of the movie that's worth waiting for, with some creative filming that may be low-budget but it stands out as fun and effective regardless.

The version I watched was in Italian with no English subtitles, but I only have a smattering of Italian at my disposal, and I can say you don't need to be fluent in the language to understand what's happening. Like most good science fiction and fantasy, it's as much about human nature as anything else. I think it's worth the 80- minute investment for fans of the genre. It also proves that you don't need a billion dollars to make a decent science fiction film; it's not all about the bling.