E.T for adult

Rating: 9/10 (22 March 2017)

I love science fiction movies, it is from my perspective a genre that pushes beyond the limit of comprehension and make us reconsider our own existence. A good Sci-Fi movie makes you doubt and question about yourself and the world surrounding you. When I heard about Arrival and all the positive feedbacks and reviews it received, my expectations were relatively high. I then watched the movie with a certain fear, the fear of being disappointed by all of this hype. Well I can say that the movie was not only up to my expectations, it went way above it.
The main story is fairly simple, twelve alien ships arrive in different part of the world. Nobody knows why. The whole movie plot resolve around the quest of communication between the aliens and humans. The main character is a linguist teacher named Louise Banks who lost her daughter prematurely because of cancer. The army request her help to develop a communication method with the aliens.
The idea of aliens showing up on our beloved earth is already known by the public, in most of the cases the aliens appear as hostile creatures whose only purpose is the destruction of the human race. Arrival on the other hand focus on the language barrier and the conflict it creates among the humans; how can we communicate with them without accidentally starting a war? The movie shows how limited and close minded our vision of language and time comprehension is, the aliens are not only here to enlightened the humans but the viewers themselves. The language barrier is as problematic with the aliens as it is with the humans and the various interpretations they deduce.
I was really amazed by the meeting sequence with the aliens, the right use of light and background music made the scene genuinely disarming, i couldn't stop thinking about «Encounter of the third kind», there is an echo between these two movies and the way they treat the human- aliens meeting. As a viewer mystery quickly substitute fear and you ended up being as curious as the protagonist.
From a purely technical point of view the movie is visually appealing, it's nothing revolutionary but it certainly good enough not to break the immersion. The most noticeable element was probably the editing and how coherent it is with the ending. The actor's play is also on the point, however the character's archetype seems a bit too linear and predictable in my opinion. I was a bit disappointed by the soundtrack, usually science fictions movies from this category tends to leave remarkable music that you will remember long after seeing the movie. It's unfortunately not the case here, it does the job but it's far from being a masterpiece.
In conclusion i highly recommend Arrival if you are a Science Fiction enthusiastic, it is without a doubt one of the best movie of 2016. It's a fresh sci-fi movie and a good surprise. Even if you are not a huge fan of sci-fi it's still has a strong and very well written story on it's side and i advice you to give it a try.