Aliens and apartheid - fascinating science fiction

Rating: 7/10 (3 March 2011)

One of the things I liked about "District 9" is its avoidance of typical science fiction film clichés. As in many science fiction movies, a huge flying saucer arrives and hovers over a major city. No, not New York or Washington, but post-Mandela Johannesburg, South Africa. Another premise that shows the writers, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, are not dealing with clichés is that the aliens in the saucer are emaciated and unorganized.
The South African government helps these aliens get out of their ship and cordons off an area in the city for their use. They call that area "District 9". Over many years, the South African population grows disenchanted with the aliens because of their disgusting habits and dependence on the public for their housing and sustenance (they consume large quantities of cat food.) District 9 has become a disreputable slum. So the government decides to relocate the aliens to a different area (District 10) far outside of the city. This is obviously a reference to South Africa's apartheid past, when blacks were required to live in designated townships.
The story is told in a documentary reality TV style, with never-shown videographers following the actions of the bureaucrat assigned to manage the transfer of the aliens that we the audience are supposed to be watching. Like other films and TV series of that genre ("The Office" comes to mind) we soon see scenes in which that format no longer works. One could imagine that the documentary film makers had filmed a staged reenactment of what had happened, but as we do with "The Office," it is easier to just ignore the discrepancy.
The second half of the film does have some clichés, notably a super-powerful and nearly indestructible machine that is controlled by movements of the person inside it.
Although the first part of the film is good drama, it eventually turns into an adventure film with violence, weapons, and chase scenes. The capabilities the writers give to the alien technology is perhaps inconsistent between the early scenes and later ones.
But the film accomplishes what many good science fiction novels and short stories of the past have done in giving us some philosophical issues to ponder over.