Movie: District 9

Spent Christmas Eve drinking Big Rock and watching a movie called District 9. The movie had played at the Uptown but, as usual, I'd been so busy I forgot to go see it.

The movie falls into the category of Sci-Fi but it is not the typical Sci Fi special effects type of film. The jist of the film is that in 1982, a space ship filled with 1 million aliens "breaks down" hovering over some city in South Africa. The government saves the aliens but puts them in a camp which effectively becomes a shantytown/ghetto. As time passes, public opinion pushes the government to relocate the aliens to a camp outside of the city. The government hires a company called MNU to relocate them.

The movie is rather graphic at times but it's message is clear. The focus on this film is all about xenophobia & racism with a touch of the hypocrisy of "major corporations & government" peppered in the mix. The aliens could be anyone; blacks, the poor, refugees, etc. Wikus, the character hired to relocate the aliens comes across as one of those near clueless puppets hired to put a positive spin on something that can only be ugly. Both arrogant & annoying, he reminded me of a spokesperson that you'd find in the Bush or Blair governments hired to put a positive spin on the conflict in Iraq. I didn't recognize any of the actors in the movie but they did a great job emulating what their characters were meant to be.

Before I pressed the play button I wasn't sure what to make of this film. The whole concept seemed almost bizarre. The movie turned out to be exactly opposite that; it was one of the better films I've seen recently & it's message was clear and disturbing. This is a film all about xenophobia and all the ugliness that comes with it.

Great flick, worth the rent if you like movies that make you think.