Sci Fi At Its Best

Rating: 10/10 (13 January 2017)

"There are days that define your story beyond your life"
Holy crap. This is probably Denis's best and most emotionally powerful film. Within the first three minutes I was on the verge of tears. Every performance in this film was fantastic. The cinematography, like usual for Denis Villeneuve, is amazing and probably the best of year. The score is very unique and goes back and forth from being mysterious to somber. The visual effects, while scarce, are used effectively. And since this is a film that focuses on story more than insane effects, the fact that they are well done adds to the story. The story is unbelievably gripping, but the first half of the film contains some of the most amazing atmosphere and build up I have ever seen in any sci-fi film. Now some people have complained about the last third, but I won't get into that mostly because I feel like I need to rewatch it to fully understand what I saw. But to be honest, I had no problem with the third act.
But the thing that I love about this movie most is that this is a story of trying to understand what is unknown or hard to understand rather than trying to push it away or destroy it. Even with current events it came out at a perfect time. It shows that there are people who don't want to understand the unknown and that there are some who will do everything they can to understand. It shows both the care and carelessness of humanity. And it shows that life is somewhat of a gift and we shouldn't waste it trying to push away, but embrace. And that might sound really pretentious but it really struck a cord with me. I would say everyone should watch this movie, even if some parts of it I don't fully understand. But like the main character I feel compelled to return to find out more, to figure out..... Man that sounded really cheesy.
100/100