Plot
A linguist is recruited by the military to assist in translating alien communications.
Release Year: 2016
Rating: 8.5/10 (2,715 voted)
Critic's Score: 81/100
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Stars: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
Storyline
When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team - led by expert linguist Louise Banks - is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers - and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.
Writers: Eric Heisserer, Ted Chiang
Cast: Amy Adams -
Dr. Louise Banks
Jeremy Renner -
Ian Donnelly
Michael Stuhlbarg -
Agent Halpern
Forest Whitaker -
Colonel Weber
Sangita Patel -
Newscaster 1
Mark O'Brien -
Captain Marks
Abigail Pniowsky -
Hannah (8 yrs. old)
Tzi Ma -
General Shang
Nathaly Thibault -
Gala Guest
Ruth Chiang -
Chinese Scientist
Jadyn Malone -
Hannah (4 yrs. old)
Julia Scarlett Dan -
Hannah (12 yrs. old)
Russell Yuen -
Chinese Scientist
Anana Rydvald -
Danish Scientist
Leisa Reid -
Nurse
Trivia:
The original name for the film was "Story of Your Life", until test audiences did not like the title, and therefore was changed to "Arrival". See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 9/10
Arrival is the best sci-fi film I've seen in my 22-year-old lifespan. I
haven't seen certain sci-fi films like They Live, Alien 3, or
Metropolis, so I can speak only from the standpoint of someone who
watches a shitload of narrative, documentary and experimental films.
Some of my recent favorites are Holy Motors (2012), Son of Saul (2015),
and The Look of Silence (2015).
I just saw Arrival two days ago at the Telluride Film Fest and everyone
in the theater had their brains cheesed out at various points in the
film. For people paying close attention to every frame, the rules of
the film might become clear in the beginning sequences. For an Average
Joe moviegoer like me, the film is a slow, natural process of discovery
from the first scene to the last. The influences of Stanley Kubrick on
science fiction films has been noted time after time, but Arrival picks
up its Kubrick vibes with it's slow sense of discovery, even if Amy
Adams and her technology moves around the screen more frantically than
2001: A Space Odyssey. That's why I respect this film and also why I
like 10 Cloverfield Lane. A lot of sci-fi films (like the new Star Trek
released this summer) don't create that unfolding sense of
science/alien-related mystery. The way information is revealed and
presented leaves us begging for more answers, and boy does Arrival
deliver.
Oscar-worthy for sure, especially in production design/special
effects/sound. Don't blow it, go see it November 11th or whenever it's
coming to your town.
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