After trying his hand at directing such acclaimed films as Prisoners, Enemy And Hitmanthe Canadian director Denis Villeneuve he made his debut in a genre he had always dreamed of tackling: science fiction. Before realizing Blade Runner 2049 and the expected Dunesthese he brought to the cinema Arrival, considered one of his greatest masterpieces, an exponent of science fiction actually engaged in talking about the human being, his existence and his global problems. The film is based on the short story Story of your lifeincluded in the anthology of short stories Storiesand your lifewritten by Ted Chiangauthor of science-fiction fiction.

Presented at the 73rd Venice Film Festival, Arrival was received extremely positively by both critics and the public, establishing itself as one of the most important science fiction films from the year 2000 to today. Engaging both visually and emotionally, the film surprises especially in the use of the sets, the soundtrack, in the alien representation and in its exploration of the underlying themes. Nominated for 8 Academy Awards including best film and best director, this came to win for best sound editing, then winning numerous other awards around the world.

With a budget of $47 million, Arrival it has come to earn about 203 worldwide, also consecrating itself as a great success with the public. An unmissable film, therefore, that every lover of humanistic science fiction cannot fail to see. Before embarking on a vision of the film, however, it will certainly be useful to delve into some of the main curiosities related to this. Continuing here in the reading it will in fact be possible to find further details relating to the plotto the cast of actors and to his explanation. Finally, the main ones will also be listed streaming platforms containing the film in their catalogue.

The plot of the movie Arrival

The film tells about Louise Banks, an internationally renowned linguist who is urgently summoned after the arrival of twelve mysterious extraterrestrial ships, called ‘shells’. Due to her extensive experience, the government wants her to join a team in Montana, the site of a landing of one of the pods. Here, the woman gets to know the physicist Ian Donnelly and the colonel Weber, learning that the purpose of the mission is to establish communication with the aliens, in order to understand the reason for their arrival on the planet. Despite initial fears, the ‘heptapods’ are kind to Ian and Louise, so much so that the scientists decide to nickname them ‘Tom and Jerry’.

Their language, however, is extremely complex and Louise struggles to establish communication. Analyzing the data collected, the linguist hypothesizes that the aliens communicate thanks to the gas contained in their tentacles, forming palindrome sentences inscribed in circular symbols. Meanwhile, Louise begins having strange visions of her daughter Hannah which she believes are induced by proximity to Tom and Jerry. Over time, however, the world situation becomes more and more complicated. Unsure of the aliens’ intentions, governments around the world prepare to declare war and Louise is the only one who can prevent it by discovering the reason for their arrival.

Arrival: the cast of the film and the aliens

To bring the film to life, Villeneuve had in mind only one possible actress for the role of Louise, namely the Oscar nominee Amy Adams. Fascinated by the complexity of the project, the actress immediately agreed to participate in it. To prepare for her role, she also delved into the role of linguist, even studying Mandarin in order to be able to speak it correctly. For Adams, some of her scenes turned out to be so emotionally charged that they brought her to tears. Next to her, in the role of physicist Ian Donnelly, is the actor Jeremy RennerWhile Forest Whitaker it’s the colonel Weber. Michael Stuhlbarg is instead the agent David Halpern, while the famous Chinese actor Tzi Ma plays General Shang.

Of particular importance in the film are the renamed aliens Tom and Jerry. For these, the director and the creators of the special effects were inspired by the appearance of cephalopods, marine molluscs that are particularly widespread throughout the world. Villeneuve, in particular, wanted them to have a particularly imposing and menacing stage presence, while also allowing a great timeless wisdom to shine through. He also wanted the aliens to look like something one might imagine in a surreal dream or nightmare, and in the later stages of the film, he wanted them to be as evocative as the Grim Reaper, a famous figure from the infernal imagery.

The explanation of Arrivalthe trailer and where to see the film in streaming and on TV

At the end of the film we understand that what the aliens want to offer to the human species is a gift. This is the gift of their language, represented through circular codes. Through the use of this, one becomes able to change the linear perception of time, which becomes circular. This allows you to experience visions from the future, premonitions of what is yet to come. Louise, and the viewer with her, then realizes that the visions she had of her as her daughter were not flashbacks from the past, but anticipations of something yet to come. Using this tool, Louise manages to prevent the outbreak of a war, as well as to unite the entire world population under the sign of a universal language. Communication, therefore, becomes the tool through which to give life to peace.

In order to experience all of this, it is possible to enjoy the film thanks to its presence on some of the most popular streaming platforms on the net today. Arrival it is in fact available in the catalogs of Rakuten TV, Chili Cinema, Google Play, Infinity, Apple iTunes and Tim Vision. To see it, once the reference platform has been chosen, it will be enough to rent the single film or subscribe to a general subscription. In this way you will be able to watch it in total comfort and at the best video quality. It should be noted that in the case of rental, there will only be a given time limit within which to view the title. The film is also present in the television schedule of Thursday 11 May at 21:10 On the canal Rai Movie.

Source: IMDb