User Reviews

An intriguing, challenging and original story focussing on Louise Banks (Amy Adams) a preeminent linguistics professor who must lead humanity in communicating with visiting aliens. It is not Independence Day style all-guns-blazing and action, but rather a thoughtful character driven movie. Adams is fabulous as the protagonist demonstrating bewilderment, perseverance and awe in coming to terms with the aliens' strange language and the impact it has on her. She carries the movie single-handed.

The language is the key and changes the way Louise, and perhaps the world, will view things forever and this impact is beautifully demonstrated through the original use of non-linear scenes. The effects the aliens use to write are superb, though understated, like a sort of coalescing squid ink.

The visuals are stunning with an original take on visiting spaceships and aliens avoiding lazy humanoid with antennae in flying saucers tropes. The presentation of the complex linguistic challenges, their initial meaning and far-reaching consequences is superb. The subtle meaning of this is difficult to explore without massive use of exposition, but somehow this is achieved with none and the message is shining bright.

Highly recommended.

As the climax of the movie wanes and you slowly begin to realize the true meaning of this film, you can't help but feel overwhelmed and ask yourself, "what if I got another chance at life?"

It is not a sci-fi film. This is a true love story. Not a romance, but as the Greek call it, Agape. The highest form of love. She knows how her story ends, but she chooses to relive her fate.

I don't really want to give anything critical away here because this movie needs to be watched, and it needs to be felt. Anyone who has had pain, disappointments, or regrets, needs to watch this movie for its beautiful message, and enjoy it for what it is- a well made movie that is unique and beautiful in every way, something sorely lacking in Hollywood these days.

One note: Max Richter's "On The Nature of Daylight" was perfectly utilized in this film, I truly do not think the moment it was used would not be as impactful if not for this beautiful song. The end was definitely the highlight of the film, and when you hear the faint, weeping strings come in, it's almost automatic, you begin to feel like the events that are unfolding are happening to you. Truly a remarkable film in every way.

"I used to think this was the beginning of your story.... We're so bound by time", Dr. Louise Banks said within the first 30 seconds of the film. Little did I know upon my first viewing that this was the true theme of the whole movie.

Arrival to its core is about the power of language, and how much language shapes who we are, what we think, how we see the world around us, etc. When the alien race comes to earth Dr. Banks is tasked with discovering their language and how to communicate with them to understand why they're here. As she learns more she discovers that they don't think like we think, or communicate like we communicate. She discovers the aliens are not bound by time as the humans are, and encourages Dr. Banks to use "the weapon".

There's dialogue between Ian and Dr. Banks halfway through the film where they discuss the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which essentially means if you study a foreign language long enough you can rewire your brain; that the language you speak determines how you think. As Dr. Banks learns more of this alien language she begins acquiring the knowledge to think how they think - which is non-linear, unbound by time.

This theme is present through the whole movie: from her daughter, to the spelling of her daughters name, Hannah (makes more sense upon viewing the film), to the big reveal at the end.

But the true beauty is that the farther the viewer goes and acquires the knowledge along with Dr. Banks, we too understand that the story itself is non-linear - the beginning of the movie is actually the end. We see the beginning and think it's the beginning as you normally do, but as we become immersed and follow Dr. Banks, learning what she learns, we too become set free by time.

The question is: if you knew your life from beginning to end, would you change anything? This movie is more than an alien invasion, which we've seen a thousand times. It's much deeper than that, and should be appreciated as such. Arrival showcases the art of storytelling.

Easily a 10/10

So, I watched the film. It's not hard core Sci Fi, but romantic Fantasy set with Aliens.

What I am confused about is why the Aliens landed in the first place. From what I gathered it's because in 3,000 years they will need help from Humans and in 2016 give them the gift of prescience which allows humanity to survive 3,000 years more to eventually help them.

What I am beyond confused with is why technologically advanced aliens, who live in a non-linear time line would need help from humans when they can just see their own future and adjust for a different outcome. If you can't affect the future then what's the point of knowing it? Also, I'm sorry but the gift of prescience by learning their language is going to UNIFY humanity? Please. Most of humanity would use the gift to win the lottery.

I feel that the message is to not have regrets in life because if you could go back and do it all again, you'd do the same thing. Which is bull crap. If I could go back 40 years and do it all over again I would pretty much do EVERYTHING differently again.

Only emotional saps will find this movie enjoyable.

SF fans congratulated ourselves when seeing that, finally, somebody was paying attention to Ted Chiang's beautifully-crafted short fiction. 'Arrival' is based on his 'Stories of your life' but it is, ultimately, a sad distortion of what Chiang's story is about. Instead of an intimate tale and a mystery, we're given the typical militaristic story told 1,000 times. The screenwriter insists on explaining what needs no explanation and absurdly misses what the story really narrates. No wonder many spectators are confused, believing that the opening minutes are actually a flashback... So, please, do yourself a favor and read Chiang, forget this flat, conventional film as soon as you can. Except, that is, for the accomplished way in which the alien language is represented, the only saving grace of the film.

Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is a linguist who teaches at a College. One day, twelve giant spacecrafts appear in random locations across the world overnight. Louise's skills make her a requirement for the U.S forces, who recruit her - and mathematician Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) - to attempt to decode and translate the language that the creatures inside the spacecrafts are using in order to prevent a global war. Alien invasion films have, frankly, been done to death. Arrival's script - penned by Eric Heisserer and adapted from Ted Chiang's short story "Story of Your Life" - is ingenious in that it finds an entirely new angle to focus the whole thing on. Rather than start a war and depict the bloodshed and trauma of an alien invasion, Arrival focuses on the struggle to communicate with the creatures (dubbed "Heptapods"), and what the aftermath of this could lead to should it not go to plan. The whole thing is pieced together like a piece of art - the performances, dialogue, cinematography, soundtrack, screenplay, editing and direction all form one elegantly structured whole. It's a simply astonishing feat of film making.

Arrival finds strength in just about everything it is comprised of. It does this to such an extent, in fact, that it's almost impossible to break it down into individual pieces. Amy Adams is superb here, giving a subdued but deeply moving performance. A lot of the film rests on her shoulders for its twists and turns to stick the landing, but she carries it without breaking a sweat. Never given any big Oscar-esque moments, Adams tells Louise's story in her softest moments and through her body language. It's an astoundingly delicate performance. Renner is also solid, and accompanies Adams nicely, even if he can't help but feel woefully overshadowed. Louise as a character is the film's most exciting element - a woman that uses her knowledge and skills to change the world in ways it has never been changed before, all of which comes down to language. When Arrival ends, you will spend hours thinking about yourself and the language you speak and use every day. The potential behind this story was astronomical, and it delivers in spades.

Much like in his previous film Sicario, Villeneuve has created a masterful aesthetic in every way. The film's soundtrack, courtesy of the terrific Jóhann Jóhannsson, is a sublime array of thumping horn arrangements and softer pieces. The cinematography (by Bradford Young) is breathtaking, bringing in references and odes to other sci-fi classics (notably 2001: A Space Oddysey) but successfully acting as a perfect match to the tone of each sequence. The flashback sequences focused on Louise's young daughter look and feel like forgotten memories, while the moments inside the spacecrafts feel entirely alien. The production design is stunning, the large pitch black objects hovering over the cities feel instantly dark and foreboding, and the brief sights of the creatures we're given reveal something wholly original. In terms of technicalities and aesthetic, Arrival is a thing of beauty - a unique, visually resplendent film that you never want to take your eyes off of.

But where Arrival hits perfection, though? The emotion. The power behind the story, and the direction the story takes in its tremendous final act. This is what makes Arrival such a phenomenal film. It sets up a story (an already thought-provoking and well paced one, at that), and then smoothly transforms into something much bigger than you could ever have expected it to be. Another stroke of ingeniousness is that the film doesn't do this in one movement. Rather than drop one bombshell and change its direction, Arrival slowly sets up a series of events, then puts them in motion one by one, binding everything neatly around its central character. Y'know that feeling you get when an absolutely killer plot twist lands? Arrival will give you that feeling for the entirety of its final act. It is, of course, entirely possible to work out where it is headed. I did, as a matter of fact, and it just made the whole thing feel that little bit more special. You either work it out and watch as it comes to life before your eyes, or you cluelessly dedicate your time to its finale and feel mesmerised at each and every turn. Whichever you experience, it is wonderful.

Arrival is a film that feels thrilling in its own unique little way. When it ends, and you discuss it for hours (which is inevitable), you'll find yourself not focusing on the aliens. You'll be focusing on the emotional power of it all, on the human side of the story. I've deliberately left a lot out of this review, just to avoid spoiling the direction the film takes in its final act. The power behind the constant twists and turns is game changing; it proves that science fiction can be, despite what the name might imply, the most human genre to make a film about. Arrival has some stunning imagery and effects to play around with, but instead it focuses on language and conversation. It focuses on humanity and time and memory, and all that is worth fighting for on this planet. It is a breathtaking achievement, and one I already cannot wait to experience countless times again. In a year riddled with emotionless superhero films and crude comedies, Arrival is a godsend. Villeneuve has been on the verge of a masterpiece for the last few years, and he has finally landed it. Arrival is a film for the ages. Seek it out at all costs, and let it transport you across time and space only to bring you back down to Earth, evoking a feeling you may never have experienced before. This, people, this right here is why I adore cinema.

I am not impressed by the movie. It was too trivial for my personal taste. All that happens in the movie can be summed up in the following bullet point: protagonist has flashbacks and nightmares, protagonist "communicates" with aliens, miscommunication occurs, they resolve the "problem", movie ends.

But that's not even what really bugs me out about the movie. Lets talk some real science here. I have been studying languages too and I am a physicist by trade so I think that I am more than qualified to make a judgement call. The biggest flaw of the movie is that it makes absolutely no sense. Apart from the fact that the aliens just started to scribble everything down instead of communicating vocally (If you were in a foreign country where people didn't speak your language you wouldn't just start scribbling things down). It's impossible to decipher a completely unknown language without prior knowledge about the syntax and etymological nature of the aforementioned language. If we were unable to decipher the Voynich manuscript for over 500 years we won't be able to decipher an alien language in a mere month. That's just a fact. Sorry

Both protagonists are technically superfluous. Everything that they've done in terms of deciphering the language could've been achieved in a timely fashion by simply utilizing ML (machine learning) algorithms. I know this to be true because that's what I'm currently doing for a living.

The movie ends with one of the protagonists asking the other: "You wanna make a baby?" How very classy and romantic... (Sarcasm)

Concluding remarks: the whole "they have a non-linear understanding of time" babble is pseudo-scientific hokum. Time is linear (because of entropy). I hate it when people pervert the hard sciences like that.

Being a sci-fi fan, I watched this when it came out and gave it a 6 rating because it was a sci-fi entry. Very hard to come up with unique, mind-blowing or bending stories in sci-fi-land. I just watched it again and my bingo light went off. I will get right to the point. These visiting creatures came from 3000 years of the future to our present. They needed to impart something to us not only for our benefit but at their future date would be of immense help to them. We do not know what this is. They had to do it in our now for their later. They sent several ships in well-civilized areas hoping the best of mankind would gather and learn from them the necessary gift as follows: To be able in the present to experience your past, present and future lifetime in the now and travel freely between the realms as such. This produces a maximum in the moment experience beyond explanation. It can only be lived by the person who has the gift and uses it. These creatures speak with what I call circles with different emphasizing accents that also include a past, present and future message when shared. It is difficult to learn but with help, repetition, practice and patience, the lead actress who is a language expert "gets-it" and as she uses it gets it even more. Now, these creatures can leave knowing they set up their present and future well-being in our past because the lead actress not only writes a book but lectures and teaches class on the coveted subject (the gift) so all can come to use it. You get it when you get it. The gift is so powerful in its rewarding that the question arises: If you saw your entire life start to finish, would you make changes? The viewer is left to ask that and ponder the complexities and dynamics of their changes if they did. Or just enjoy the journeys presented. Its all good! Now apply what I have shared (I have the gift) LOL and re-watch the movie and be at peace and wonder. Amazing concept!!!

I was excited to see the film, hoping that finally a movie would explore just how rich the possibilities of communication are. But nope, we again and again get a very anthropomorphized bred of aliens.

It bothers me that they have too much in common with humans. Their primary medium of perception is visual perception apparently; they not only use visually perceivable system of communication, but also react to external stimuli by visual observation (doing nothing but looking at the humans as they arrive on the ship).

Their language is of course easily translatable to human languages within a few months. Just try to translate the communication system of bats or dolphins; you cannot. Alien communication should be even harder as we do not even share basic genetic familiarities with them. The only reason we cannot understand dolphins, but we can somehow teach gorillas sign-language, is that both humans and gorillas have a lot in common in how they conceive reality. Our concept formation processes are similar, hence the availability of a translation between our systems of communication. This should not work for aliens.

Other than the issue of communication, the movie itself is just another example of a typical Hollywood flick. The Americans are the good guys, and the Chinese, the Russians and some other Muslim countries are bad guys. The main characters end up romantically involved just like in any other movie.

There is one good thing that Villeneuve does exceptionally well, and it's that he can show the paranoia, the pessimism, the capacity of destruction that lie within humanity. Incendies and Sicario were good movies in this aspect; they weren't filled with naive optimism, but a realist pessimism. Arrival does it well too. It's right in saying that the biggest obstacle of humanity is humanity itself.

Lastly, there's the aspect of being able to perceive time non-linearly. Yes, language is more than just naming objects. It's the bedrock of culture, and science for that matter as well. But it's not a magical potion that gives you superpowers. I hated that aspect of Interstellar, but as most scientists found the movie okay, I just said maybe I am scientifically illiterate. But I know that in this movie, science-fiction becomes a fantasy.

The aliens have arrived. And they are – Holy Calamari People, Batman! – giant squid. The giant squid communicate in writing by shooting magical retractable ink out of their tentacles onto a transparent wall. It's up to linguist Amy Adams to decipher their communication before the other crazy countries in the world try to blow up everything.

The Calamari People, who float in a room of steam, write in circles – which is apparently how they experience time. Without a beginning or end. They can see their lives in their entirety. And the Calamari People are here to give humanity a gift, we find out: Once you unlock their language and become fluent, you will experience time in the circular way they do. It's a lot like becoming fluent in French and suddenly realizing why the French love Jerry Lewis so much.

From the lack of character and character development to the way the story unfolds, the movie is like watching a real-time long shot of a grave digger digging a grave on the grayest of all days. It's morose and filled with dread. Monotone and monotonous. Shovel after shovel after shovel, and he never seems like he is getting anywhere.

The entire pic is filled with "music" that is just a bunch of low hums that underscore the dread and monotone. It doesn't give us a clue to how we should be feeling. And that's why I go to the movies, to feel. How about awe at seeing the spaceships? The joy and celebration of the first breakthrough of communication? Nope, we get tedium and low bassy hums.

Jeremy Renner plays a physicist who doesn't do any physics, and he nicknames the two Calamari People we see Abbott & Costello. Although you can't tell them apart, Abbott becomes my favorite character in the movie because he gets to die midway through and doesn't have to suffer through the rest of the film. Lucky Abbott.

Throw in voiceovers and flashbacks that we find out are really flashforwards because time is actually circular to Amy Adams, and you have a film that yearns to be so much more than the real-time gravedigging than it is. It's the type of intellectual pretentiousness I thought only the Nolans could put on the screen.