Brilliant and redefining cinema, and one of the masterpieces in science fiction. 4.5/5

Rating: 8/10 (26 November 2016)

ARRIVAL : 4.5/5
All right! So to break the ice without verbose explanations, let me just say : This movie is brilliant! As brilliant as a movie on science fiction can be - an originality of its own, and no cluttered baggage.
Now, to comprehend the brilliance of this movie, one has to take a solitary step back and try to recall all the sci-fi movies which were conceptually mind-blowing, original, and overwhelmed you so much with its broadened horizons , you could literally feel dizzy?! What comes to mind? Alien? Interstellar? Blade Runner? Matrix? Inception? Yes! I am talking about such conceptual brilliance in a movie. And Arrival passes it with flying colors - sometimes so overwhelming, it surpasses the benchmarks too.
Coming straight to the script - the beauty and realism of a protagonist who is unperturbed by the commotion around regarding an unknown event, sets the tone of the movie. Unlike in-your-face surrealistic heroism, the people with knowledge tend to be realistically unaware of the happenings - especially when such an extra-terrestrial event takes place.
The design of the space-ship and its locales are just so haunting and mind-numbing, it translates from the emotions and mannerisms of the actors in the movie to the audience seamlessly. Same goes with the design of the aliens which is unique in its own might, and reminiscent of the haunting originality of the Alien franchise. But what takes the cake - is the graphic language of the aliens which is so unique and interesting - one may never even fathom such creativity. All of it while the earthlings were unable to communicate via the audible approach being used by the aliens - another realistic incidence of such a contact!
It is not unrealistically snappy as it takes the protagonists hard work and time to even begin to comprehend the subtleties of the alien linguistics, and the translation is mostly lost. This is one of the best representations of such a scenario, as one does not simply create a dictionary for a species in a day. Not to forget the other subtle but important precedence of various alien ships landing in various parts of the world - and not only in America (a hilarious joke among non-residents of USA).
This movie is haunting and beautiful on so many levels : The music is numbing and characteristically "alien" which transcends the various fears and emotions of the characters into the audience without trying too much. The visuals are mind-boggling and overwhelming - reminiscent of Alien and Interstellar, but more subtle, haunting and less heroic. The story itself with its great twist (a trope of Shyamalan) and the concept of time ( like Interstellar), has a beautiful philosophical and emotional value, almost unseen in the majority of science fiction flicks.
The best quality of this movie is that it subtly takes away from the alien event, and rather focuses on the emotions, consequences and life-changing transformations of the earthlings and the people surrounding the event. It does not make the aliens the incident of importance - but rather a process which changes and focuses on the conscience of the human race.
Let me warn you though - this is not a movie for the audience who want snappy and action-packed entertainment from a science-fiction movie. In some parts, the movie is rather boring, as it delves deeper into the comprehension of the event, and in the end, it is just plain acceptance and moving on - there is no big climax waiting to happen. Also, to add to the frailty - the CGI in some parts of the movie is questionable, considering that it was such a well-made movie with high production value.
It may seem like this movie tries to borrow from franchises like Alien and Interstellar, but in the end, it creates its own unique world and manages to shelve away any such comparisons- thus creating an original idea and sci-fi masterpiece altogether. It is a fresh addition into the big names which redefined the genre of sci-fi easily sitting beside Matrix. Blade Runner or Alien.
Verdict : Brilliant and redefining cinema, and one of the masterpieces in science fiction. 4.5/5
P.S : The movie is based on the short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang which was the winner of the 2000 Nebula Award for Best Novella as well as the 1999 Sturgeon award.