Skip to main content

Film Essay: Arrival (2017)

Sci-fi adventure films coming out of Hollywood in last couple of years are exhibiting the elements of an art-project combined with a dark theme and very strong ethereal, emotional appeal. They are catering to an individual, rather than a group of spectators. These tales are more personal yet the elements they are associated with are universal. They are unifying force. They address a universal problem in general and being film-narratives always come out triumphant. As much as I was disappointed over my inability to discern the meaning and patterns of Nolan's Interstellar, I was equally fascinated by the scope, creative imagination and emotional schemes of it. It was an unforgettable cinematic experience. And the hero of the film, although personally despondent, was working for the benefits of humankind. In 2015, it was Deux-Ex Machina. Oscar Isaac and Alicia Wikander headlined it. It explored the narrative of AI-run-Robots and what they could possibly do to us humans if badly treated. It was a spectacular film, one with fabulous horror-movie feel and an ending that leaves you numb. But in 2016 came Arrival, starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker and for the first time in last 7 months, I was teary-eyed at the conclusion of a feature film. Sci-fis aren't engineered to leave you emotionally distraught if they are not E.T. and it wasn't but it was certainly more personal and emotionally heaving with strong linguistic and global feel at its core. How many times do you experience a feeling when immediately after watching a film, you wanna watch it again? It's not exactly a feel where you don't want a film to ever end but it's altogether different. You wanna move on but would like to keep it as your companion. Absolutely enthralling. And Amy Adams once again proves that Hollywood might keep denying her credentials in field of acting but there will be enough storylines, character-arcs and Directors to keep her engrossed and in turn, us motivated.

For once, Academy has done a most wonderful thing by nominating this film for a best film Oscars and for doing that, I might even forgive them for snubbing Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' and it's headliner, Liam Neeson. Do watch 'Arrival' and try to look out for themes I talked about. It's liberating!!!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

P.S. Hoffman & Joaquin Phoenix: The Master

My infatuation with the movies is well known but my involvement with the actors and their characters is even more heartwarming. There are innumerable movies that I saw simply because they featured my favorite actors, however they themselves were not great. Examples could be infinite, however for the sake of this article I'll have to produce something here. Anger Management for Jack Nicholson (boy, isn't he a legend?), Swing Vote for Kevin Costner, Snatch for Brad Pitt, Legends of the Fall (Brad Pitt), Leon: The Professional, Immortal Beloved, Bram Stroker's Dracula, State of Grace & Prick up your ears; all for Gary Oldman (mind you, he is a chameleon). Meanwhile, I started accumulating some of the finest performances by some of the legendary actors of all time. Very recently, as anyone who follows me regularly knows, I grew very much fond of the craft and artistry of Daniel Day-Lewis. He is a fine, fine actor whose study and impersonation of a character is often pictur...
Post a Comment
Read more

BBC's India's Daughter: An Indian Response

I assume you all have watched BBC's Documentary on Nirbhaya a.k.a Jyoti Singh (I don't know whether I'm legally entitled to speak up her name publicly in India or not, but let's take the risk). It goes by the name 'India's Daughter' in India, but at the same time, it's banned here. Though it was released way back on 4th March and I downloaded it right away on the very next day for my relatives but only yesterday, I got to watch it and that's only because Meryl Streep vouched for it for an elusive 'Oscars Nomination'. That's not to say that I was skeptical of its content or plot but somewhere I was afraid that I couldn't quite grasp its central idea. So let me tell you that if you are a parent or a certain male chauvinist, you can certainly do away with a strong stomach for it will certainly test your strength of character. Awaneendra who was accompanying Jyoti that fateful night, was when asked later to comment on this documentary, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Film Essay: Room (2015)

This is an appreciation post for Oscars Best Feature Film Nominee, the number 7th, Room (2016). Every once in a while in English-speaking world, a courageous director comes up with an audacious project that blows your mind away and you just couldn't fathom what you really experienced. These words might sound hollow if I am going to describe the authenticity of Room (2015). Whatever I shall be writing hereafter shall in no way do justice to the brilliance of this movie and I cannot possibly come up with any more adjectives to ornament it for they all would fall short. So let me narrate you the experiences of my fellow colleagues who are more popular, widely read and certainly more accomplished than me: Rotten Tomatoes: Led by incredible work from Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay, Room makes for an unforgettably harrowing – and undeniably rewarding – experience. Richard Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times) : The most impressive piece of filmmaking I've seen in 2015, and one of the best...
Post a Comment
Read more