"How do we best communicate with one another?"
It's one of the most important questions we can ask: How do we best communicate with one another?
To do so, we need to understand what we are saying to each other, even if it means learning a different language from our own. We need to understand the meaning of what is being said, which can be difficult when each language comes with its own set of quirks and nuances.
But above all that, there is our need to make ourselves heard and especially our responsibility to listen to what we are being told - the longing to connect by generating empathy and creating understanding in this way is perhaps the best reason to communicate in the first place. It can be difficult enough to achieve that among people who speak the same language, let along people who speak the many different languages of our world.
The new science fiction drama Arrival goes one step beyond that - when alien beings come to our planet, understanding them and making ourselves understood by them will require patience, open-mindedness and cooperation. Otherwise, how will the human race know the alien race's intentions? And how will they know ours? It may not sound like subject matter that's particularly riveting or stirring (where are the explosions?), but Arrival is so enthralled and excited and inspired by the ideas it raises that viewers may find themselves under the spell it subtly but surely casts.
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As the film begins, a dozen alien spacecraft are hovering above various parts of the world. Their reason for being here is unknown, but the American military - represented by Weber (Forest Whitaker) - believes language expert Louise Banks (Amy Adams) has the best chance of finding out. Every 18 hours, he explains, the vessel hovering over Montana opens up. The next time it does, Banks will go in and begin the long, complex process of learning an alien race's way of communicating while trying to teach our own. It's a process that will basically require a rewiring of the way humanity thinks, Banks comes to understand. It's also a race against time, because some of the other nations trying to communicate are getting more and more anxious as they fail to grasp what the visitors are trying to say. And the consequences could be dire.
It's easy to understand why Arrival introduces this plot line - it's credible enough, and it adds some necessary dramatic tension. But it also distracts from the true heart and soul of the film; that looking at everything around us with a wider, broader sense of perspective enriches us all, even if that different perspective reveals the bad as well as the good in life.
Director Denis Villeneuve keeps the movie vibrating with a sense of imminent discovery - fear walks hand in hand with wonder here. But he doesn't overplay either sensation, instead gives the movie a modest, understated but assured feel, trusting the smart screenplay by Eric Heisserer and trusting the cast, Adams in particular. Being present is a term that has become close to cliched through recent overuse, but in many of her performances - and especially here - Adams embodies the best of it. In Arrival, she's acutely alert of everything that arises in this whole remarkable scenario, making it relatable and real to us through her reactions and interpretations. In keeping with Arrival's message, it's a beautiful act of translation.