The first thing I'd say about District 9 is that it is not a film solely for sci-fi fans. It is, however, a welcome return to intelligent sci-fi for those who have been waiting and waiting. It's about ideas and ethics and I don't seem to remember weighty issues going through my mind after Transformers 2.Most people who did their homework know that this is Neil Blomkamp's directorial debut (after a film adaptation of the Halo franchise, partnered with Peter Jackson, fell through). It's frequently mentioned that Blomkamp was born in South Africa. The kind of horrific settlement actually used for South African racial segregation, prior to apartheid's 1994 end, was used as the set for District 9. It's sobering when you realize the indignation you feel about aliens being so cruelly housed was a human reality for so long. Blomkamp has said the comparisions are inevitable, but he didn't want to hit the audience over the head with it. It's still an unavoidable link.
The movie begins as a documentary and immediately introduces the main character, Wikus van de Merwe, a debut performance by Sharito Copley. For two decades, an alien mothership has stalled over Johannesburg, South Africa and over a million aliens have been rescued and settled in District 9. The small, filthy shacks, with piles of trash everywhere, make up their new homeland. But, humans have become tired of the aliens, who have become scapegoats for any number of problems. Wikus' high profile assignment is to relocate the aliens to a new settlement, District 10, which will be worse than their current environment.
The transformation, both literal and figurative, of Wikus is simply mesmerizing. By the end, we're left wondering if one needs to lose their human nature to become humane. And to wonder what "humane" really means. At the end of a summer so full of empty spectacles, District 9 is a film of weight and meaning. Go there.
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Good review. I too enjoyed the movie. There were a lot of elements that appeared to have been shamelessly borrowed from other works, but there were recombined in an original manner so it still felt innovative.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if all movie goers will realize how much of a link there is between apartheid and District 9, as I don't know if that's even been taught in public schools in the past decade. Nevertheless, I very much appreciated how the movie let audiences draw their own conclusions without assuming that we are all morons and explicitly explaining these references to us.
I also appreciated seeing new yet competent faces in the film as I find that unknown actors make it easier for me to immerse myself in the story. Wikus seemed a bit more real for not having been played by an over paid mega-star.
Finally, I also appreciated how the special effects furthered the story rather than supplanted it. Movies with action and/or aliens often are peppered with scenes that should be subtitled "We now interrupt this story for a gratuitous and unbelievable special effects demonstration". District 9's lower budget didn't allow for much of that and as a result the effects helped immerse the audience in the story rather than take them out of it.
Hey, EWPLDF, you just offered a better review than mine! ;) I also think the lead actor was astonishingly good in a very difficult first major role.
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