Arrival seems like a fitting movie for this election season, and I couldn’t help wishing it had been released before we voted so people could have seen the importance of having a strong, smart woman in charge.
But I digress.
Based on “The Story of Your Life,” Ted Chiang’s short story about the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity (which claims that the structure of a language influences the way you perceive the world), the movie is a totally different kind of science fiction film than we’re used to.
Although it’s about aliens, it’s not a typical alien adventure in which the good guy humans try to destroy the bad guy aliens. Thank goodness, because I have no interest in that genre.
Arrival has more in common with Gravity and Contact, both of which are more cerebral and thought-provoking, and both of which not coincidentally also have females as leads.
But, again, I digress.
In Arrival, Amy Adams stars as A-list linguist Dr. Louise Banks. When a dozen UFOs land in seemingly random spots around the world at the same time, she is whisked away by government officials to try to communicate with them and find out what they want.
I don’t want to give anything away but this is a must-see for so many reasons, including the fact that it promotes reading and writing. It held me riveted to the screen for two hours and, although I had to process the movie when it was over, I’ve been thinking about it for days and am liking it more and more with each revelation.
Arrival is an eye-opening film about the value of also opening your heart and mind. At a time when our country is so divided, it shows the wisdom of embracing the idea of a “non-zero-sum” game. Google it because it’s a planet-saving idea that is the antithesis of our current political situation.
Amy Adams is quietly brilliant in this movie, and I felt completely safe in the hands of her Dr. Banks. I couldn’t help considering what would happen if an event like this actually happened over the next four years and am convinced our newly-elected President would do everything in his power to keep these illegal aliens out.
And that would be a big mistake.
I love these kinds of movies. They show us the better side of humanity, or the worst side and how we need to improve, or both. I wish more people would see these movies as thought provoking and worthy of consideration, rather than just another form of entertainment.
I will definitely check this movie out!
I’ve heard so many good things about this movie and just missed a screening today. It’s on my watchlist. I’ve been digressing for the last several months.
I think I need to see this. It’s on my list, too. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.