A HARSH HELLO FOR VISITORS FROM SPACE
By A. O. Scott
New York Times
August 14, 2009
Original LinkFor decades -- at least since Orson Welles scared the daylights out of radio listeners with “War of the Worlds” back in 1938 -- the public has embraced the terrifying prospect of alien invasion. But what if, notwithstanding the occasional humanist fable like “E.T.,” all those movies and television programs have been inculcating a potentially toxic form of interplanetary prejudice?
“District 9,” a smart, swift new film from the South African director Neill Blomkamp (who now lives in Canada and who wrote the screenplay with Terri Tatchell), raises such a possibility in part by inverting an axiomatic question of the U.F.O. genre. In place of the usual mystery -- what are they going to do to us? -- this movie poses a different kind of hypothetical puzzle. What would we do to them? The answer, derived from intimate knowledge of how we have treated one another for centuries, is not pretty.
A busy opening flurry of mock-news images and talking-head documentary chin scratching fills in a grim, disturbingly plausible scenario. Back in the 1980s a giant spacecraft stalled in the skies over Johannesburg. On board were a large number of starving and disoriented creatures, who were rescued and placed in a temporary refugee camp in the part of the city that gives the film its title. Over the next 20 years the settlement became a teeming shantytown like so many others in the developing world, with the relatively minor distinction of being home to tall, skinny bipeds with insectlike faces and bodies that seem to combine biological and mechanical features. Though there is evidence that those extraterrestrials -- known in derogatory slang as prawns because of their vaguely crustacean appearance -- represent an advanced civilization, their lives on Earth are marked by squalor and dysfunction. And they are viewed by South Africans of all races with suspicion, occasional pity and xenophobic hostility.
The South African setting hones the allegory of “District 9” to a sharp topical point. That country’s history of apartheid and its continuing social problems are never mentioned, but they hardly need to be. And the film’s implications extend far beyond the boundaries of a particular nation, which is taken as more or less representative of the planet as a whole.
No group, from the mostly white soldiers and bureaucrats who corral and abuse the prawns to the Nigerian gangsters who prey upon the aliens and exploit their addiction to cat food, is innocent. And casual bigotry turns out to be the least of the problems facing the exiles. As it progresses, “District 9” uncovers a horrific program of medical experimentation yoked to a near-genocidal agenda of corporate greed. A company called M.N.U. (it stands, none too subtly, for Multi-National United) has taken over administration of the prawn population, which means resettling the aliens in a remote enclosure reminiscent of the Bantustans of the apartheid era.
The M.N.U. executive charged with carrying out this program is Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a nervous nebbish whose father-in-law (Louis Minnaar) is the head of the company. Cowardly, preening and hopeless at projecting authority, Wikus is the kind of guy who gives nepotism a bad name. It says a lot about Mr. Blomkamp’s sense of humor, and about his view of his own species, that this pathetic little paper pusher is his chosen agent of mankind’s potential moral redemption.
But I’m getting ahead of the story, and perhaps overselling the allegory. Not that the metaphorical resonances of “District 9” aren’t rich and thought provoking. But the filmmakers don’t draw them out with a heavy, didactic hand. Instead, in the best B-movie tradition, they embed their ideas in an ingenious, propulsive and suspenseful genre entertainment, one that respects your intelligence even as it makes your eyes pop (and, once in a while, your stomach turn).
The early pseudo-documentary conceit, which uses footage that pretends to have been harvested from news choppers and security cameras as well as some by the unseen crew accompanying Wikus on his tour of the prawn camp, fades away after a while. The academic authorities do too, having served the dual functions of providing narrative exposition and demonstrating the high-minded uselessness of official liberal discourse.
Once a terrible accident befalls Wikus, we are at his side and under his skin, and “District 9” subtly shifts from speculative science fiction to zombie bio-horror and then, less subtly, turns into an escape-action-chase movie full of explosions, gunplay and vehicular mayhem.
In the midst of it all you almost take for granted the carefully rendered details of the setting, the tightness of the editing and the inventiveness of the special effects. Not the least of these are the aliens themselves, who are made expressive and soulful without quite being anthropomorphized. (Their whirring, clicking speech, partly understood by Wikus and others who work with the creatures, is translated for the rest of us via subtitles.)
One in particular, named Christopher Johnson (Jason Cope), becomes Wikus’s protector and ward, and their relationship turns “District 9,” in its final act, into an intergalactic buddy picture, with some intriguing (and also possibly disappointing) sequel opportunities left open.
At its core the film tells the story -- hardly an unfamiliar one in the literature of modern South Africa -- of how a member of the socially dominant group becomes aware of the injustice that keeps him in his place and the others, his designated inferiors, in theirs. The cost he pays for this knowledge is severe, as it must be, given the dreadful contours of the system. But if the film’s view of the world is bleak, it is not quite nihilistic. It suggests that sometimes the only way to become fully human is to be completely alienated.
“District 9” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It has intense violence and violent swearing in the languages of two planets.
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7 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD SEE ‘DISTRICT 9′
By Dr. Cole Abaius
Film SchoolRejects
August 13, 2009
Original LinkHey, sports fans. I can’t exactly publish an earnest review of the film until later tonight (and even that is pushing the embargo a bit), but I can’t wait to gush all over this fantastic, brilliant, beautiful film. Seemingly out of nowhere with its strange trailers and odd viral campaign, District 9 has quickly become one of the must-see movies of the year. Part of that is due to the push the film got over the cliff’s edge by screening at Comic-Con. Now, I have no idea whether or not that will get more butts in seats, especially for those wary of science fiction, which is why I felt it incumbent upon me to help out in my own little way.
And, I hate that this seems necessary now in our world (absolutely find it deplorable), but FSR isn’t being paid to write this. I’m not being paid to write this. I love this film, and I think a ton of you, dear readers, will have your minds blown by it. I believe in this film, and here at Reject HQ, when we believe in a film, we celebrate it, get up on the rooftops and scream about it until our lungs are enflamed or until it’s time back to the theater to see it again.
Speaking of, I’m seeing District 9 again tonight and plan on seeing it again over the weekend. I flat out love this movie.
Here’s 7 Reasons Why You Should:
7. Intelligent Science Fiction Disguised as an Action Film …
From the trailers and promotional materials, there’s a lot of fighting. Lasers and whatnot seem to be going off all the time, and it looks like the insectoid-style aliens can also deliver a beating. But beneath all of that is a phenomenally written story about a group of individuals treated as lesser-than in society, walled off from any semblance of normal life, and light years away from their homes. If you’re turned off by heavy-handed morality tales (and who isn’t), you’ll be happy with a definite lack of preachy bullshit found in the movie. It lets the characters and the situations create sympathy or ire all on their own -- whether it’s finding common ground with someone who seems different or the underlying pangs of corporate greed that flow throughout. It’s well-written, brilliantly acted, and it’s one of the smartest films of the year.
6. … That Delivers on the Action
And there’s still a ton of shit blowing up. And some gore if you’re nasty. There have been so many trailers baiting and switching audiences lately that it’s really incredible to see a film that delivers above and beyond what it’s promising in the advertising. The beginning of the film has a bit more set up than some like, but even with the first half hour there is a rising tension that builds into physical conflict. Bloody, awesome physical conflict. We’re talking about a world where two groups are in a silent war with each other -- one a group of prisoners, the other a struggling warden simply trying to keep the peace. The action elements are as good if not better than most action films -- and they are even more effective because you care about the characters and the general feeling of unease that comes with the concept.
5. The Visuals
Holy hell, the look of this film is impeccable. It’s gritty, visceral, a blend of on-the-ground documentary camera work and stylized sweeping shots. What’s more, director Neill Blomkamp and cinematographer Trent Opaloch have done a great deal to restrain themselves by building elaborate alien elements into frames but not always making them the focal point. The world is real, and they don’t need to show off to prove it. Sometimes the alien space craft is large and looming over the landscape and other times it is barely noticeable, just hanging in the background. Aliens roam around free, and by not constantly highlighting them, the world they’ve created is incredibly real. One more element that helped me suspend disbelief. However, some may have a problem there – specifically with the CGI work. It’s done expertly, but there is an inherent challenge in creating CGI characters that don’t exist in real life. You, the audience, knows they are fake and that hinders the believability even if the CGI was done picture perfect. I actually really loved the look of the aliens, though, and I have a feeling that a huge majority of viewers won’t care all that much about slight flaws in CGI work.
4. The Weaponry
I don’t want to say too much about the weapons used in the film because I don’t want to spoil the freshness and surprise of their capabilities. Suffice it to say, they are awe-inspiring, and you definitely do not want to be on the business end of any of them. I’m talking pants-shittingly good.
3. Sympathetic Aliens
Like the CGI challenge I mentioned earlier, it seemed like a huge hurdle to make a group of aliens seem ultimately sympathetic. This achievement was a triumph. By focusing on several of them as characters, the film does something brilliant that not only creates an enduring connection but also drives home an underlying theme of humane kindness without shouting it from the soap box.
2. The Accessibility and Universality
Not into science fiction? It’s a satirical drama. Don’t like thoughtful dramas? It’s a science fiction, action flick. Don’t like amazing movies? I can’t help you there. District 9 is so well put together that even people who hate science fiction will most likely walk out of the theater reveling in the overall story while science fiction fans will walk out reveling in the overall story and how awesome the fucking aliens are. And probably arguing about the physics of proton thrusters or something else nerdy like that. (Which, as a nerdy sidenote: my biggest problem with science fiction is when it doesn’t play physically by its own rules. Amazingly, District 9 adheres stringently to the technology its invented, and I love it for that). There are themes and ideas that almost anyone can relate to, and they all play out against the backdrop of an engaging, epic-feeling alternate world where a world government has to deal with an alien race.
1. The Birth of a Major Talent
Outside of the film itself, audiences and film fans have a unique opportunity to see a first-time director blow the ladies’ underwear off of most other directors in Hollywood. I wouldn’t want to name names, but this newcomer has done something on his first time out that most directors dream of doing their whole careers. And some never pull off. Neill Blomkamp has a long, successful future ahead of him -- and, in a way, that excites me even more than District 9, because I can see what lays beyond its borders. The future looks bright and full of incredible films from this talented director. You’d be wise to be there at the beginning.