Arrival above all Arrivals

Rating: 9/10 (18 November 2016)

As the credits rolled I sat there stunned and silenced by what I had just experienced. As I walked out and push the cinema door I said nothing to my friend. He looked at me and could see I was visibly moved and let me be. I have a very personal reason this movie affected me like it did to which I will elude later. 10 minutes later my crumbly broken voice uttered the words "wow" just "wow". It's a long time since I felt like this since coming out of a movie. It was a unique experience. Profound, Etheral, Spiritual and thought provoking are the only words I can muster to explain what this movie does to you. That I tell u this movie is elegantly paced and deeply moving tells u this isn't your landmark destroying smash bang wallop cgi fest alien invasion movie. Independence Day this isn't. Amy Adams delivers a near perfect performance central to this very human story which uses the alien presence to highlight something very grounded we experience here as human beings. This is intelligent, confident, thought provoking, moving cinema delivered in a stunningly mesmerizing way. The themes this movie explore are very relevant to our times in fact all times. How we communicate with each other let alone with an alien presence becomes the more pertinent question. Understanding the language of emotion of appealing to the human heart is presented in a plot twisting stunning way. That we as humans have to understand that life's tapestry is not all how we wish it to be but that we understand all of what we experience in life including hardship, loss, love joy they are all part of the life we are given. And now the reason this movie resonated with me on a personal level. I lost my daughter over a year ago and I have to tell u no sermon, no priests religious words or prayer has provided me with the comfort or profound message this movie gave me. It's truly cathartic. Go see it.Intelligent, moving, profound and resonating. Do yourself a favour, get in touch with yr heart, question yr thoughts and feed yr soul.