Arrival

*Favorite Films* Denis Villeneuve Ranked Arrival is excellent, perfect in my opinion, yet you could still make the argument that it's not even Villeneuve's best. He has proven time and time again that he is a master of filmmaking - Dune 1 & 2, Bladerunner 2049, Sicario, Prisoners, Enemy. There are many thought provoking aspects of the film - time, tragedy, science, etc. What makes Arrival so special though is just how human it is even for a sci-fi film and the themes with language. If aliens were to land on Earth, it's pretty unfortunate and terrifying to know that this is exactly how humanity would react. We would start panicking, bringing out the guns, expecting the worst, making enemies where there are none. Forest Whitaker and Tzi Ma do an excellent job of embodying this. Sure, if a UFO came down from the sky I would be alarmed, but I'd also be curious. There are some people on this planet, the minority for sure, that don't immediately jump to the worst possible outcome in an intimidating situation such as this. Our main characters in Arrival played by Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner are perfect at representing this. Our history is brought up many times throughout the film typically involving times when we played a significant role in war or communication. Sometimes we forget where we came from and other times we're too tied to the past. Remembering our past mistakes is essential to our survival and improving as a species. However, in doing so we can tie ourselves to some of our terrible and unforgivable ways. Even some of our most important texts that we reference every day could be considered outdated. Communication or the lack thereof have sometimes been the one and only cause or resolution of a conflict. This film beautifully shows the power of simply trying to talk rather than simply relying on what we see. Even though we've been on this planet for millions of years we still struggle greatly with this. Speaking (and certainly learning a new language) can open up our minds to new pathways of understanding. How much progress would we have made as a species if we never communicated with each other? What have we lost because, in certain instances, we chose not to?