District 9, 2009

District 9, 2009
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope





Short synopsis: An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.

Stage: Home cinema, without dolby surround :)

Preps: None in perticular. I watch this on basis of recommendation or let's say an opinion that counts in my head. Something about the aliens anyway. In my history I admired the imagination of different directors trying to cope with this vague idea of aliens and what the interaction with them could be like. With a strong idea, that I could never be as impressed with something now like I was as a few - year - old small girl in the cinema watching ET, I lack true believable story in this genre. I mean, something you can relate to or even make it believable in your brains. Somehow I prefer seeking some philosophical challenge in the genre and try not to condemn the directors for the masterarts they are doing with the alien/earthling battles. Everything there can be perceived real. Earthlings do have master experience in wars, so..




Reality: The beginning and the first half of this is somehow exciting and different. Imagine having aliens living in slums, like we know from major cities all over the world. To be even more sarcastic, they get high on cat food and deal weapons with Nigerians to get it at unreasonable rates. The beginning makes me think this is going to be a documentary, but then it turns out to be the for-play and at the end, the after-chapter, put into documentary.

The story is actually simple, once you get the point. The aliens come over Johannesburg with their gigantic ship that just stays there for three months and then the brave Earthlings (americans, who else) break in and find the aliens. They are called Prawns and they are domesticated after that - in a shape of a governmentally lead slum, called District 9, with population 1,8 mio aliens.

Government people then try to move the aliens to District 10 - more distant from Johannesburg (presumabely safer for locals). Within the process of moving, the observer is faced with series of funny eviction dialogues, made by governmental team and aliens. It reminds me of some war - related movies (mostly about the former yugoslavia wars, let's say Nikogaršnja zemlja or ), where it's not important if the people you are talking to, even understand you. But they have to do what you tell them. As long as the brave americans wave with their shotguns and yell at those people /aliens in this case, what they should do.

The amazing turnover that drags my attention is the evolution of alien - human hybrid that the leader of the eviction team is exposed to as he gets the virus inside his body. There were many movie attempts trying to create this and this one is one of more disgusting ones - if you think of it purely physically, mentally the observer unfortunately doesn't know enough. So disgusting it actually makes me more interested in what a person feels like being exposed to something like this. Unfortunatey the director evolves this purely phisically and lets the psychological aspect aside.

The movie loses its flow in the second half, where I am lost in all the fighting scenes. The battle for life or death just distracts me and I am reaching out for some beer/chocolate/other things to keep me happy.

The ending is brilliantly put in a shape of documentary and line of interviews - letting the observer assume there could be similar projects going on right now around the world. Maybe not in Africa (or even there) and maybe not with cat food (this is such a splendid idea - however I cannot tell where the Prawns come to the idea that the catfood is good and how they tasted it in the first place - there I show some respect to the given facts in the movie, such as this one with the cat food is, and don't worry about the background).





My personal rating: 6,0 (decent fun, at least first half. I think the movie will suit the skin of those movie fanatics, that really enjoy alien attempts of various directors and enjoy PS fights alien/earth/other things. In my head, it isn't something truly amazing.)



p.s. IMDB peak: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/