J: Only someone with the vision and creativity of Peter Jackson could conceive a science fiction film that brings together all of the qualities in “District 9”. This movie has all of the things one hopes for in a great sci-fi flick; action, an unsettling creature and body parts flying all over the place. But this movie goes a step farther; this one actually makes you think.
District 9 is the name of the slum in which a huge group of aliens, stranded when their ship inexplicably stalls over Johannesburg, South Africa, are placed in a lame attempt at a humanitarian effort. When it becomes clear the Prawns, a derogatory name given the aliens based on their lobster-like appearance, aren’t going away anytime soon, a large conglomerate named MNU (any resemblance to Halliburton is probably very much intended) undertakes the task of “evicting” the aliens so as to move them to a shiny new future slum a very long way away from the city. You see, the good folks of Johannesburg, a group with a long history of “tolerance”, are fed up to here with all the crime and gang activity surrounding District 9 and want them gone. Providing the proof-point that even people with a long history of being discriminated against are more than happy to discriminate against someone lesser than themselves – ah, Human Nature at its finest. The “documentary” that is this movie follows the low-level manager, who has been given this plum assignment by his creepy father-in-law, Wikus Van De Merwe (played by Sharlto Copley) as he works to first get the Prawns to sign a paper saying they understand their eviction so the next step – the actual eviction – can lawfully take place. Quite a trick considering the alien language is difficult to understand and they haven’t got a clue what an eviction is. But he enthusiastically pushes ahead, until he gets a face-full of some strange alien brew in one of the shacks. This changes Wikus from a pocket protector and vest wearing nerd into, well into something even worse, hard though that might be to imagine.
And so enters MNU and their real dilemma – you see, the aliens have all manner of very dangerous looking weapons and MNU would just LOVE to reverse engineer those bad boys but have a slight problem. The weapons only work for someone with the alien DNA – gee, maybe old Wikus could help them out with that. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the cruise Wikus signed up for and he expresses his dismay with MNU’s idea about that even as their scientists continue to cattle prod him into going along with their zany idea. When it looks like Wikus is going to resemble the cat food the aliens have a drug like craving for, he decides he has had enough and affects a pretty cool escape. Once he blows out of the subterranean lab, he has nowhere to go except back to the Prawns he has just spent the entire day harassing. Bad luck, Chum!
The documentary filming style is just this side of jumping the shark these days but in this case it serves the film very well. Director South African Neill Blomkamp does a good job of making sure it’s not as jarring as some of the first attempts at a hand-held look, such as “Cloverfield”, have been and the background supplied by the “interviews” interspersed throughout the movie do a great job of moving the story along. The violence is shocking in its appearance and necessity, with a terrific convergence of CGI and real camera work. The largely unknown in the US cast gives the film an even deeper documentary feel – because you don’t recognize anyone it feels more like it’s happening in real-time. For that reason, it’s very easy to get absorbed in this film, but not so much that you miss the very evident underlying meaning. It is no accident this film takes place in Johannesburg. Intolerance and extreme social injustice are themes that loom very large in this film – particularly intolerance and human inability to relate to anyone or anything outside of a narrow frame of reference. The changes, both physically and psychically, that Wikus goes through turn on these points. In a very crucial moment Wikus has to come to terms with his position of having only the alien who helped brew the fluid he gets sprayed with to help him out. Luckily for the hapless Wikus, the Prawn he befriends is determined to get his ship back on its wheels and get him and his cute, bright, shrimpy little boy the heck out of this solar system from hell. And that’s where this movie gets its humor – from the irony of the situation Wikus and the Prawns find themselves in. There is nothing in this film that I have a particular problem with, except (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?) the lack of answers to many of the questions, but in true Hollywood fashion, we are witness to a franchise in the making. I’m sure all these questions will be answered in District 10 and the additional questions posed in District 10 will be answered…oh, you know the drill. Anyway, RUN, do not walk, to see District 9 – I guarantee you will enjoy it!
District 9 is the name of the slum in which a huge group of aliens, stranded when their ship inexplicably stalls over Johannesburg, South Africa, are placed in a lame attempt at a humanitarian effort. When it becomes clear the Prawns, a derogatory name given the aliens based on their lobster-like appearance, aren’t going away anytime soon, a large conglomerate named MNU (any resemblance to Halliburton is probably very much intended) undertakes the task of “evicting” the aliens so as to move them to a shiny new future slum a very long way away from the city. You see, the good folks of Johannesburg, a group with a long history of “tolerance”, are fed up to here with all the crime and gang activity surrounding District 9 and want them gone. Providing the proof-point that even people with a long history of being discriminated against are more than happy to discriminate against someone lesser than themselves – ah, Human Nature at its finest. The “documentary” that is this movie follows the low-level manager, who has been given this plum assignment by his creepy father-in-law, Wikus Van De Merwe (played by Sharlto Copley) as he works to first get the Prawns to sign a paper saying they understand their eviction so the next step – the actual eviction – can lawfully take place. Quite a trick considering the alien language is difficult to understand and they haven’t got a clue what an eviction is. But he enthusiastically pushes ahead, until he gets a face-full of some strange alien brew in one of the shacks. This changes Wikus from a pocket protector and vest wearing nerd into, well into something even worse, hard though that might be to imagine.
And so enters MNU and their real dilemma – you see, the aliens have all manner of very dangerous looking weapons and MNU would just LOVE to reverse engineer those bad boys but have a slight problem. The weapons only work for someone with the alien DNA – gee, maybe old Wikus could help them out with that. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the cruise Wikus signed up for and he expresses his dismay with MNU’s idea about that even as their scientists continue to cattle prod him into going along with their zany idea. When it looks like Wikus is going to resemble the cat food the aliens have a drug like craving for, he decides he has had enough and affects a pretty cool escape. Once he blows out of the subterranean lab, he has nowhere to go except back to the Prawns he has just spent the entire day harassing. Bad luck, Chum!
The documentary filming style is just this side of jumping the shark these days but in this case it serves the film very well. Director South African Neill Blomkamp does a good job of making sure it’s not as jarring as some of the first attempts at a hand-held look, such as “Cloverfield”, have been and the background supplied by the “interviews” interspersed throughout the movie do a great job of moving the story along. The violence is shocking in its appearance and necessity, with a terrific convergence of CGI and real camera work. The largely unknown in the US cast gives the film an even deeper documentary feel – because you don’t recognize anyone it feels more like it’s happening in real-time. For that reason, it’s very easy to get absorbed in this film, but not so much that you miss the very evident underlying meaning. It is no accident this film takes place in Johannesburg. Intolerance and extreme social injustice are themes that loom very large in this film – particularly intolerance and human inability to relate to anyone or anything outside of a narrow frame of reference. The changes, both physically and psychically, that Wikus goes through turn on these points. In a very crucial moment Wikus has to come to terms with his position of having only the alien who helped brew the fluid he gets sprayed with to help him out. Luckily for the hapless Wikus, the Prawn he befriends is determined to get his ship back on its wheels and get him and his cute, bright, shrimpy little boy the heck out of this solar system from hell. And that’s where this movie gets its humor – from the irony of the situation Wikus and the Prawns find themselves in. There is nothing in this film that I have a particular problem with, except (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?) the lack of answers to many of the questions, but in true Hollywood fashion, we are witness to a franchise in the making. I’m sure all these questions will be answered in District 10 and the additional questions posed in District 10 will be answered…oh, you know the drill. Anyway, RUN, do not walk, to see District 9 – I guarantee you will enjoy it!
K: District 9 is an intelligent and fresh take on what would happen if aliens came to earth. I like that it happens in Johannesburg, South Africa (very symbolic, btw) as opposed to some typical US city. I also liked that they used all unknown actors, which played well with the documentary-style of storytelling. The only thing I didn't like is that almost all of it was filmed on hand-held cameras making for a lot of jittery shots. My eyes were getting sore after awhile so I kept looking down to focus on my stable and unmoving knee for a few moments. Excellent movie. I highly recommend it.
1 comment:
Peter Jackson did not conceive this film. He only agreed to produce it. The director and writer is Neill Blomkamp.
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