Page 2 November 10, 2016 TORRANCE TRIBUNE Film Review Enter “Arrival,” This Year’s Smartest Sci-Fi Flick By Ryan Rojas for Cinemacy.com Inevitably, alien invasion movies must ask themselves – and their audience – the same critical question: What are they doing here? And yet, before this question can even be posited to alien life forms, the small hurdle of needing to teach word-based human language to an alien species of entirely symbol-based communication for which to even understand what a “question” is, must be developed. Good thing the world would have time for such a laborious undertaking and wouldn’t likely be on the brink of planet-wide war. This is the premise of “Arrival,” a multilayered sci-fi movie that hinges its dramatics on a linguist’s attempt to find a way to communicate with aliens amidst a tickingtime bomb that is a Cold War standoff between international nations and extraterrestrials. Add to this a circular, non-linear time-space narrative that marries the unlocking of alien language to alternate realities, and “Arrival” stands as the smartest sci-fi offering of the year. When twelve unidentified flying objects land – or more so, ominously hover – over the world, linguistics professor Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is called upon by Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) to aid the U.S. military in figuring out how to communicate with Earth’s newest visitors and uprooted from her rudimentary undergraduate teaching career. Seen to not be leaving any family behind, Louise gets choppered to the Montana landing site, where she meets another civilian-turned-top-security-cleared-specialist in physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner). Yet as quickly as she is absorbed into this new world and its high-stakes stresses, so too do lapses of grief flare up, tied to memories of both her lost child and failed marriage, which the movie opens with in somber flashback, seeing the fleeting glimpses of a child’s birth, through childhood, through ultimately being taken by disease at her side – leaving a now alone Louise to shuffle blindly into a new reality before cutting to present-day invasion. Downloaded on their missions, Louise and Ian are shuttled up into the alien pod’s entrydoors when they open every eighteen hours, floating through the gravity-less pod to get to the chamber to communicate with the life forms inside. After a few unsuccessful trials, initial anxieties and fears subside and Louise is drawn closer to the aliens, eventually stripping away her oxygen suit to convey who her “self” is, leading to more breakthroughs in communication. Yet the closer she comes into proximity and contact with the aliens, more vivid do the fragmented memories of her daughter become, bringing Ian closer to support Louise and her lengthy teaching process which, let’s not forget, runs counter to the timelines of both Colonel Weber and the world. Without giving much else away, Louise and Ian’s relationship develops into what leads to the movie’s largest idea of non-linear realities. With such searingly-laced dramas as 2013’s “Prisoners” and in last year’s more-blistering still cartel-drama “Sicario,” director Denis Villeneuve once again proves he is second to none in being able to craft an affecting human drama set in a consumingly dangerous world – and proves it here on his largest scale to date. In “Arrival,” Villeneuve deafens the galactic-absurdity of alien life (yet still taps into fantastic imagery of the design of the aliens and their symbol based communication system) to ultimately show the resounding human drama underneath. Whether it be the intimate devastation of a mother who must manage the memory of a deceased child on one end to the conflict of worldwide human civilization needing to work together amidst a fractured modern landscape of language and politics before world war ensues, Villeneuve handles an entire range of drama to polished success. “Arrival,” like Villeneuve’s filmography, is pristinely photographed and operates in chillingly measured pace, and it’s great fun to see the director maintain his human-drama talents while dipping his toes into the world of sci-fi – which, in its final act, ups the entire ante by unveiling the full stakes of the quantum time-leaping canvas: that unlocking the alien’s language may lead to the discovery of alternate timelines that only Louise may be capable of unlocking to save humanity. If at that point, this reality-bending closer feels a bit rushed in having to wrap up all of the movie’s loose ends, and where MacGuffins start to come sailing in like meteor showers, “Arrival” is still an expertly crafted film that lifts the sci-fi genre to even greater, more thoroughly constructed heights. 116 minutes. “Arrival” is rated PG-13 for brief strong language. In theaters this Friday. • Amy Adams must communicate with extraterrestrial visitors in “Arrival.” Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Calendar of Events Deadline for Calendar items is the prior Thursday by noon. Calendar items are $1 per word. Email listings to marketing@ heraldpublications.com. We take Visa and MasterCard. THURSDAY, NOV. 10 • Propagation Society – Planting Seeds for the Future, 10:30 AM., Madrona Marsh Nature Center & Preserve, 3201 Plaza Del Amo, free to public, Call: 310-782-3989. • Magic Show, 4:00 PM., free, Walteria Library, 3815 W. 242 St., Call: 310-375-8418. • Biography and Memoirs Book Discussion Group, 10:30 AM., free, Katy Geissert Civic Center Library, 3301 Torrance Blvd., Call: 310-618-5959. FRIDAY, NOV. 11 • Veterans’ Day • Madrona Marsh Nature Center & Preserve, -CLOSED. • All Torrance Libraries CLOSED.for Veterans’ Day SATURDAY, NOV. 12 • All Torrance Libraries CLOSED for Veterans’ Day • RKDC Kids Show (Regina Klenjoski Dance Company), 2:00 PM. and 4:30 PM., Tickets: $12, James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Call: 310-781-7171. SUNDAY, NOV. 13 • EK DO TEEN VIII (Meera Sawhney/ NDM Bollywood Dance Studios), 12:00 PM., Tickets: $35, James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Call: 562-402-7761. • Native Music at Madrona, Free!, 1:00 PM. – 3:00 PM., Madrona Marsh Nature Center & Preserve, 3201 Plaza Del Amo, Call: 310-782-3989. MONDAY, NOV. 14 • Madrona Marsh Nature Center & Preserve – CLOSED. • Name that Book!, 11:00 AM. – 8:00 PM., free – teens only, Henderson Library, 4805 Emerald St., Call: 310-371-2075. • BeTween Fact and Fiction, 4:00 PM., free – tweens only, El Retiro Library, 126 Vista del Parque, Call: 310-375-0922. TUESDAY, NOV. 15 • Name that Book!, 11:00 AM. – 8:00 PM., free – teens only, Henderson Library, 4805 Emerald St., Call: 310-371-2075. • Terrific Tuesdays: Thanksgiving Turkey Craft, 4:00 PM., free to public, North Torrance Library, 3604 Artesia Blvd., Call: 310-323-7200. • City Council Meeting, 7:00 PM., City Hall, 3031 Torrance Blvd., Call: 310-618-2780. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16 • Name that Book!, 11:00 AM. – 8:00 PM., free – teens only, Henderson Library, 4805 Emerald St., Call: 310-371-2075. • Wayback Wednesday, 10:30 AM., free, Katy Geissert Civic Center Library, 3301 Torrance Blvd. Call: 310-781-7599. • So Very Thankful!, 4:00 PM., free, El Retiro Library, 126 Vista del Parque, Call: 310-375-0922. THURSDAY, NOV. 17 • Name that Book!, 11:00 AM. – 8:00 PM., free – teens only, Henderson Library, 4805 Emerald St., Call: 310-371-2075. • Propagation Society – Planting Seeds for the Future, 10:30 AM., Madrona Marsh Nature Center & Preserve, 3201 Plaza Del Amo, free to public, Call: 310-782-3989. • Check It Out @ the Southeast Library, 3:00 PM., free, teens and tweens only, Southeast Library, 23115 Arlington Ave., Call: 310-530-5044. • TeenZone: Leaf Paintings Rock!, 3:30 PM., free – teens only, Katy Geissert Civic Center Library, 3301 Torrance Blvd., Call: 310-618-5964. • Soaring on the Wings of a Tale, 4:00 PM., free, Henderson Library, 4805 Emerald St., Call: 310-371-2075. Upcoming Events: NOV. 19 • Bishop Montgomery High School Open House, 9:00 AM. – 12:00 PM., no reservations required, 5430 Torrance Blvd, Torrance. Contact: admissions@bmhs-la. org or Call: 310-540-2021. • Community Briefs El Camino College Student Publications Honored at Conference El Camino College student publications ranked in the top 10 in the “Best of Show” competition at the recent National College Media Convention in Washington, D.C. The Union newspaper led the way with a fourth-place finish in the Associated Collegiate Press judging for newspapers from two-year colleges across the United States. The Union website, eccunion.com, ranked seventh among large-school websites. Both are guided by Editor-in-Chief Phil Sidavong. Warrior Life magazine won a fifth-place ranking under Editor-in-Chief Sydnie Mills. El Camino College’s student literary magazine, Myriad, was rated ninth in the nation. “El Camino College has a proud tradition of excellence in its journalism program – consistently producing award-winning student publications on a national level,” said El Camino College President Dena P. Maloney. “We are so proud of our students and the faculty who help them earn national recognition year after year.” The Union, which along with Warrior Life is produced by students enrolled in journalism classes, is celebrating its 70th anniversary as a leader in college journalism. Provided by El Camino College. •
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