District 9 and a story update
District 9 was one of the more interesting films I've seen recently. I found the documentary style to be engaging, insofar as it wasn't immediately apparent what was going on. It raises issues about how we, as humans, treat each other, and because the minority involved is an alien race instead of a real-life minority, the viewer is encouraged to look at these events with fresh eyes. For the first 15 minutes or so, I felt like the film was asking me a question: Are the aliens as different from us and as difficult to deal with as the documentary suggests, or are they actually similar to human beings, with this fact masked by human prejudice? One is frequently reminded of real-life racial tensions, but the fact that the aliens are a completely different species leaves open the possibility that such anxiety might be completely rational. Until the alien main characters are introduced, this question is impossible to answer.
That said, I felt that there are a few deficiencies in the film. For one, I'm not sure that there was that much gained by setting the film in Johannesburg. I found myself thinking: "That city has suffered from racial conflicts too much and too publicly already. No need to saddle it with fictional conflicts as well." For another, the film seemed to be trying for too many things at once. It started with the aforementioned documentary style, then changed into a personal tragedy alluding to The Metamorphosis, then changed to a Michael Bay robots-and-explosions action flick, then used the documentary style to deliver a half-hearted attempt at a feel-good ending. The protagonist started out as a pretty spineless and unexceptional character, which for me seemed like license to kill him off. There were plenty of good opportunities to do so, and the film might have gained additional depth. Instead I felt like I was being given a realistic, gritty view of things, and just when anything seriously bad was about to happen, the writer or director or someone suddenly thought "people won't like this enough", and switched to something that would sell better. The movie does not need to be political and gross and tragic and Michael Bay and violent and philosophical and feel-good and sci-fi. There are two or three very different audiences there, and it's hard to please them all.
My gripes aside, I do recommend seeing District 9, as it was definitely worth the time and money.
Another thing I wanted to say: there's a totally new project I'm writing, less a story than an excuse to string some flash fiction together into one work. It has rocketed towards completion (by my standards). Conceived last Friday, it should be posted around Thursday.
That said, I felt that there are a few deficiencies in the film. For one, I'm not sure that there was that much gained by setting the film in Johannesburg. I found myself thinking: "That city has suffered from racial conflicts too much and too publicly already. No need to saddle it with fictional conflicts as well." For another, the film seemed to be trying for too many things at once. It started with the aforementioned documentary style, then changed into a personal tragedy alluding to The Metamorphosis, then changed to a Michael Bay robots-and-explosions action flick, then used the documentary style to deliver a half-hearted attempt at a feel-good ending. The protagonist started out as a pretty spineless and unexceptional character, which for me seemed like license to kill him off. There were plenty of good opportunities to do so, and the film might have gained additional depth. Instead I felt like I was being given a realistic, gritty view of things, and just when anything seriously bad was about to happen, the writer or director or someone suddenly thought "people won't like this enough", and switched to something that would sell better. The movie does not need to be political and gross and tragic and Michael Bay and violent and philosophical and feel-good and sci-fi. There are two or three very different audiences there, and it's hard to please them all.
My gripes aside, I do recommend seeing District 9, as it was definitely worth the time and money.
Another thing I wanted to say: there's a totally new project I'm writing, less a story than an excuse to string some flash fiction together into one work. It has rocketed towards completion (by my standards). Conceived last Friday, it should be posted around Thursday.