District 9 More than Entertainment

Rating: 9/10 (16 August 2009)

District 9 takes place in South Africa where an alien space ship suddenly appeared in the skies above Johannesburg almost thirty years ago. The aliens didn't attack nor did they offer technology or trade. In fact, there was little contact at all until humanity took the initiative. But first contact isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially not if you're an alien. Humans "rescued" the aliens from their ailing ship, but segregated them into a gigantic shantytown known as District 9 where they remain, monitored by a constant police presence.
Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) works for MNU, a corporation that oversees much of District 9 and engages in most of what the rest of the world sees as alien relations. MNU has ulterior motives, of course. It wants desperately to get some version of alien weapons technology up and running. In part because humans are fearful of the aliens, MNU undertakes to move the entire population from District 9 to a location well outside Johannesburg. Van De Merwe is put in charge of the relocation effort, and that's when things suddenly get complicated.
District 9 is presented as a documentary film. Some footage appears to come from news organizations while other snippets are apparently culled from security cameras. There's also video of various persons who are interviewed—of the anonymous "man on the street" variety, MNU employees, and friends and family of Van De Merwe—and their comments woven into the rest of the material. Though there are obviously some scenes that couldn't have come from the aforementioned sources, those are also skillfully edited into the plot line here and there. Taken as a whole, the delivery is striking to say the least.
Director Neill Blomkamp grew up in South Africa, and I suspect his intimate knowledge of the country during apartheid contributed greatly to District 9 (which is based on a 2005 short made by Blomkamp). Famed director Peter Jackson had originally tapped Blomkamp to direct a movie version of the video game, Halo. When that didn't pan out, Jackson gave Blomkamp $30 million to make whatever he liked. He expanded on his earlier idea, and co-wrote and directed District 9; Jackson is credited as a producer.
I was surprised to learn that leading man Sharlto Copley hadn't acted before this, but I figured I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, in a documentary-style film, he could probably get away with not being very good. The reality, however, is that Copley had to be far more than just another interviewee. He had to portray a variety of very strong emotions under a number of extraordinary circumstances. Copley wasn't adequate to the role. No, he was positively fantastic. I feared for him, I cheered for him, I loathed him, and frankly, I wept over him. He may not have acted before, but I sure hope he does again!
It's painful to type the word "only" in front of "$30 million," but that kind of money for this kind of movie is a pittance. I fully expected mediocre special effects and other shortcuts which, in a film relying on at least some effects, could very well have resulted in dragging the movie down. Once again, I was delighted to see that Blomkamp (and Jackson's own WETA Workshop, which handled everything from special effects to props, and from vehicles to make-up effects) came through, and in a major way. The CGI (by Image Engine, a company in Vancouver, Canada where Blomkamp attended and graduated Vancouver Film School) is flawless, and the integration with live action is just terrific. I wasn't merely satisfied by the depiction of these aliens, I was awed. I never doubted for a moment that they were real.
From a somewhat lower tech standpoint, I loved the cinematography. Some scenes were filmed with hand-held cameras, and the jouncing and jiggling were perfect touches and added genuine realism. Other shots with broader scopes were awesome, beautiful, and horrifying by turns. I credit excellent direction combined with talented cinematographers, good editing, and some more of that superlative CGI work for the cohesive and dramatic end product.
BOTTOM LINE: It's obvious I recommend District 9 to movie goers as a unique new action movie. But I must confess something else as well: When the movie was over and the audience making its way out, I was still in my seat. I sat there, alone, in the dark, weeping. I've talked about movies before as "entertaining" or "exciting," and this one is both. It was also, to my lingering amazement, profoundly moving. Good for Mr. Blomkamp, and good for movie fans, too.
FAMILY SUITABILITY: District 9 is rated R for bloody violence and pervasive language. Because this is science fiction, though, I don't see that the violence would be too much or too graphic for kids of about 13 or 14 and up. The language (and plenty of it) is going to have to be your own call.
POLITICAL NOTES: I didn't know it before I saw the movie, but the shantytown filled with shacks occupied by aliens is real. Its human population was in the process of being relocated to government housing, but people still lived there when the movie was being made. Even had it been a product of set decorators, the living conditions there were appalling. That it's real is almost unfathomable. While there are the all too obvious lessons here where poverty and apartheid is concerned, I also think it's important to point out the motives of MNU, motives which echo those of many governments, up to and including a "the ends justify the means" attitude. The notion that some lives are considered less valuable than others is also brought home, sometimes in particularly graphic and horrific fashion. That's another lesson some could do with learning, particularly by those currently considering health care reform in this country.