Extraordinary Surprise

Rating: 9/10 (19 September 2009)

I have to say in advance, that I didn't hear anything about this movie, there was no hype for me, I'm simply interested in good SciFi. D9 is in a way a SciFi Slumdog Millionaire; if you allow yourself being caught you are totally in. Some months ago I hated Cloverfield for making my head aching and boring me. I hated Star Trek for disappointing me with being more childish (and thereby being so seriously) than Star Wars. Now I love District 9 for surprising me with a good idea and a subversive view. SciFi is rare, because it's expensive. Good SciFi is one of the rarest things, because the massive amounts of money spent must flow back to the investors with profit, and they think, that only mainstream and infantile movies work in that way. D9 was cheap, compared to other top movies of the genre, and so the producer had not many risks to bear.
So the author had the opportunity to use his plot to show us some of the uglier sides of us, by unmasking common accepted behavior, preoccupation, condemnation and greed as essential (and damnable) parts of our daily life.
There is one key scene (for me) where Witus, the main character, describes how Alien fetuses are destroyed resp. burned with flamethrowers and make noises like popcorn during this process. It is obvious that those people don't think that the "Shrimps" are worthy beings, despite - or because - they live with them since more than two decades. In this moment you see how easy it is to treat somebody as sub-human.
Another key scene is at the beginning, when they learn that the Aliens are poor and weak (and dumb) beings. After the first amazement there is no benefit from the encounter, no wonders are coming from them, they simply have to be fed. They are a burden and primarily useless. So there is no need to try to understand and treat them in an appropriate way ?
But i don't want to over-interpret this movie. It's definitively not only for "intelligent people", but for people who are bored from predictable US mainstream SciFi.
And yes, D9 is political incorrect. The Nigerians are shown like real Idiots who actually think, eating Aliens could make them mighty and powerful, even after this didn't work during the past 20 years. They are villains, cat food dealers like drug dealers, there is no positive aspect in their appearance. It's a cliché, and maybe the author worked up some personal reluctance. But the story needed a color equation for the badness of all those white guys.
I admit that the part which is critical of society is not the real main part of the movie. The movie wants to suggest that, but the main part is the action shootout in the MNU center and the slums. Although this is a bit too long and too tension (= box office) oriented, it intensifies the impression of the rest of the movie.
I for myself rated back from 10 to 9 because of the 90% happy end, according to my mom who always said "good movie, bad ending" ;-)