Thoughts on a Film: Arrival (2016)
There are very few movies that make you feel something that you have never felt before. It is a feeling that you didn’t know existed until you actually felt it. Arrival is such a film. You may call Arrival a ‘beautiful’ film but deep inside you know that there is so much more to it.
The movie’s theme is quite different from the typical ‘aliens coming to Earth’ stories. It sets a unique but realistic problem; ‘communication’ with the aliens. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is a linguist who is called to work with the military in order to establish communication with the ‘aliens’ along with Ian Donnelly (Jeremey Renner) who is a physicist. Belonging to two completely different backgrounds (almost opposite), the conversation and chemistry between these two main characters is quite enjoyable.
As the movie progresses it is evident that Louise is a brilliant linguist and knows how to get things done in the right way. She has been tasked to find out the answer to a single question- “Why are the aliens here (on Earth)?”. The pressure from the military increases as she begins making progress with conversing with the extra-terrestrial. Right when humanity is about to go to war with the aliens, something extraordinary happens, which leads to one of the best endings in the history of cinema.
Arrival is a movie that takes the audience on a journey through numerous emotions which very few films can. The ending brings tears to our eyes but we are not sure whether they are due to happiness or sorrow. “On the nature of daylight” is one of the best music pieces ever created. And it was carefully woven with the first and last scenes of the movie.
It took me a while to get around to watch this movie for the first time, but watching this movie with no idea how the story was going to unfold was one of the best things that have happened to me! This is the movie that made me fall in love with Denis Villeneuve. It’s amazing how even after watching the movie multiple times, it provides the same touching experience. So before reading the further section make sure you have watched the movie at least once. Ruining the movie is the last thing I would want!
Spoilers Ahead!
Lessons from the Film
The first impression is the last impression
The first scene of the movie shows the journey of Louise’s daughter’s entire life; right from her birth to her death at a very young age. Naturally, we feel sorry for Louise and quickly work out our first impression of her. It is only after the climax, that we realize that the events of the birth and death of her daughter are yet to happen. So, throughout the movie, we fool ourselves by misinterpreting her introverted and silent behavior for a melancholic, grieving, and sad mindset.
While wondering about this, I realized that we often fool ourselves in similar ways in our life. Before meeting a new person, if we hear bad things about the person, we automatically change our perspective towards him/her. We might behave inappropriately or even try to avoid contact. First impressions do help us in being cautious but we should not completely trust them, rather draw out our own conclusions based on our own observations.
“If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?”
I think that the key to a powerful dialogue is not just its content but also its timing and delivery. Imagine listening to the above dialogue at the start of the movie. Would you have given much importance to it? But, after completing the movie, especially after understanding the chronological order of events, this dialogue turns out to be magical.
I think this is the best dialogue in the film. I often regretted taking a few wrong decisions in life. However, when I looked back at these decisions after watching this film, and especially understanding the depth of this dialogue, I didn’t feel so bad about them. Such is the magic of this powerful dialogue.
Communication is the key to harmony
The movie quite clearly proves that language is a tool and not just a medium of communication. We see how good progress is made when there is an exchange of information when all the sites are open to conversation. However, as soon as a few of the sites start closing their communication channels, the risk of war against the aliens increases. It is only after Louise speaks with the general, that the situation mitigates.
So next time, when engaged in a conflict with someone, try to solve the situation by conversation. Keeping quiet or turning to violence will solve nothing. If you think that things are not going your way, simply talk it out!
Just because you can’t comprehend something does that mean it doesn’t exist?
The characters of the movie are bound by the known laws of nature. The idea that a language could be used to glimpse into the future is quite incomprehensible. Moreover, the aliens coming to Earth, just to provide a tool to humanity, and wanting nothing in return does seem suspicious, but it doesn’t mean it’s wrong!
This made me wonder about a similar question regarding the existence of ‘God’. Maybe proving the existence of ‘God’ might be like explaining the meaning of ‘color’ to a blind person. Just because the person is unable to comprehend it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Maybe all we need is to open our eyes to realize that there is a colorful world surrounding us.
If everything was comprehensible in life, how soon would our curiosity die?
