Arrival
"If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?"
"Language is the foundation of civilization. It is the glue that holds a people together. It is the first weapon drawn in a conflict."
I first saw this in 2016 and loved it then, but upon rewatching, wow.
This is more than any other sci-fi film. It doesn't just tell a story, it alters something inside of you. How can one learn to carry both love and loss without being able to seperate them?
The pacing feels almost dream like, and as it unfolds in a non-linear rhythm, it tells us not to race towards endings, but to live through moments.
Villeneuve turns first contact into a way to understand life on new terms, through language and choice.
Amy Adams plays not a hero, but a fully human person, vulnerable, intelligent, and haunted.
This film is unbelievable.
Denis Villeneuve Ranked