I actually disagree with this, in a time when we are inundated with rubbish comic book movies, this was a welcome change and something that really worked for me. I was thinking all the way through about the story line and the suspense was there at all points. Overall I would say this was a great movie, but one for the thinkers of the world, not the people who just want mindless action.

@Badlands1 said:

Why would she have a child knowing it will die slowly and painfully from cancer.

I thought that was the point of the whole movie? Knowing your future ends miserably but choosing to live it because of all the love it has on the journey?

It raises a lot of other themes about language and human behaviour too though I did feel these were less developed

@zag2me said:

I actually disagree with this, in a time when we are inundated with rubbish comic book movies, this was a welcome change and something that really worked for me. I was thinking all the way through about the story line and the suspense was there at all points. Overall I would say this was a great movie, but one for the thinkers of the world, not the people who just want mindless action.

I agree I hate all these new mindless action comic movies, hence why I said a film like Manchester by the sea was a nice break, but Arrival? IMO it's a huge cop out, we still are not given an answer to why the aliens need out help, so give us the power of their language to help them, for what reason? This doesn't bother anyone else?

It's actually my favorite film of 2016. I think you're dead wrong. It is an amazing experience. Dying children are typical? lol ok.. but if the child wasn't dead it would be so unoriginal.

Not every film has to be unique in every aspect. Take the entire work and stop nitpicking.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I think it has so many layers to it that will be revealed upon multiple viewings. There is so much open to interpretation, too.

Btw, I also enjoyed Manchester by the Sea.

@Stormy86 said:

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I think it has so many layers to it that will be revealed upon multiple viewings. There is so much open to interpretation, too.

Btw, I also enjoyed Manchester by the Sea.

So can somebody please answer the whole point of the movie, and the alien language "why they needed out help, and why they gave that language gift" Other than that it's "hey, we came, we gave, we don't need to tell you why, we're gone, no sequel, bye"

@Badlands1

I've only seen this movie once, and really feel as though I need to see it a few more times to fully grasp what is going on. I took it as the aliens testing how the human race reacts to stressful situations. From what I saw, there were two approaches made in communicating with the aliens, which were either done in a more composed manner, or of a more hostile nature. Louise and Ian took the former approach. This is where language and diplomacy come into play. The film shows how these are our most effective means we have in solving conflicts/problems (i.e. negotiation and communication), as opposed to going out guns a' blazin'. It shows how mankind's natural instinct is to act first, think later (i.e. attack, then ask questions) when we feel "threatened," which is typical when we are faced with the unknown. The unknown can be scary, but it is still better to understand first.

@Stormy86

The Aliens said they needed out help in the future, which is why they came back in time to give us the language gift. We never got that answer, I have never seen a 2+ hour film do this before, just leave us hanging. The film is more about her life, and struggles, than any type of sci-fi if you will. I understand many people feel her pain and suffering and that appeals to them overall vs a complete film.

pretty good film. 7.5/10. fairly original too.

agreed. Overhyped. almost put me to sleep and figured out the twist 20 minutes into the movie.

@Badlands1

I think the point of them coming here seeking our help for the future had everything to do with how we tend to respond to things we don't understand. It's perceived as a threat to us, so we tend to go into defense mode. By testing how we respond, and showing how the approach of calm communication and diplomacy will get us further than attacking first, we received a sort of enlightenment that can be passed down to future generations. There's this whole concept of time that's presented in the film. For the Heptapods, time is perceived nonlinearly, and because time is nonlinear for them, their language is a rather complicated lexicon to decipher. Also, 3,000 years to them is mere seconds away, because time is nonlinear. This is why they pass on their nonlinear perception of time to us. Remember, Louise tells her daughter that her name (Hannah) is a palindrome, which is essentially the foundation of Arrival. While watching the movie, we think we are seeing flashbacks, but it's actually one in the same. These sequence of events exist free from the constraints of time, thanks to the perspective given to her by the Heptapods. It's a bit of a paradox.

[@Stormy86] No, the Aliens didn't care how we treat each other or our politics, they said they need out help to save them 3000yrs ahead, and gave us the language skills. The whole point of the movie never explained, I've never seen that before, what a big cop out for ticket sales.

@Badlands1

I stand by what I said. I'm sorry we aren't agreeing with our interpretation of the film. No, the actual "threat" is never explained, but I feel this is more about introducing us to a new prism by which we can better view our own lives. It's about whether or not we would change our lives, if we were able to see our life as a story told in a nonlinear fashion. If we were able to know each outcome of every decision and action we made, would we change it? We already know Louise doesn't, because she sees the big picture (i.e. "Life's a journey, not a destination."). The "threat" is not the main point, but more so free will and personal responsibility. For example: Louise knows her daughter will die, that it will tear her husband apart, and that her husband will ultimately abandon her because of this, but she has her daughter anyway. Do you take away someone's existence on Earth, and the time you would share with them just because one day they will feel pain, etc.? What about all the beautiful things in between? This film has a much larger scope than just focusing on an event that will happen in 3,000 years.

[@Stormy86] Do you take away someones's existence on Earth, and the time you would share with them just because one day they will feel pain, etc.?

It's not one day of pain, it's months of pain, suffering, chemotherapy, radiation, etc. Then eventual choking and suffocation, no parent would subject their child to that. I guess you're not a parent. That ruined the movie for me to, oh it won't win the Oscar anyways.

@Badlands1 said:

[@Stormy86] Do you take away someones's existence on Earth, and the time you would share with them just because one day they will feel pain, etc.?

It's not one day of pain, it's months of pain, suffering, chemotherapy, radiation, etc. Then eventual choking and suffocation, no parent would subject their child to that. I guess you're not a parent. That ruined the movie for me to, oh it won't win the Oscar anyways.

Good grief. I meant one day as in one day the pain will start. I know it wasn't just one day total. So you would take away all the other happy days she experienced before that? You would rather her not experience life at all? So I guess every person who has ever had some disease, etc., should never experience life if you have the ability to change it to where they would never be born at all? That's ridiculous.