Furlough Friday: District 9

In a summer movie season that has delivered only a few standout films (Harry Potter, Moon, The Hurt Locker), and some really terrible ones (Revenge of the Fallen, G.I. Joe, Thirst), District 9 announces itself as the movie we've been waiting for. Here is a film both visually arresting and emotionally poignant, technically accomplished and substantial in story, character, and sociopolitical relevance. "There's a lot of secrets in District 9," a man says at one point. I'll tell you the film's biggest secret: it walks the line between tentpole summer blockbuster and indie counter-programming brilliantly, delivering a superb sensory experience and a dramatic, suspenseful, thought provoking story. The film is drawing praise from many critics, but also has its detractors, and I will address some of the nay sayers later.

The setup for this film is: 28 years ago an alien spacecraft essentially breaks down above Johannesburg. After months of waiting for the visitors to exit their ship, the military breaks into the spacecraft, discovering nearly a million starving worker drone aliens. The aliens are removed from their spacecraft and, after an attempt at integrating them into society, are fenced into a military managed ghetto, the titular District 9. District 9 is a filthy crime ridden shantytown, evoking not only the obvious--apartheid in the film's South African setting--but recalling racial subjugation and poverty the world over. Nigerian gangs seize the opportunity to sell goods--including an alien favorite, cat food--at exorbitant prices, while also running in prostitution and arms trading. Locals are uneasy living with aliens (prawns, they call them) so close by. One woman claims prawns will kill you to get your sneakers or your cell phone, crimes we in the United States, and likely in other regions of the world, would absolutely associate with poorer, ghettoized (and other types of urban) neighborhoods. Johannesburg residents are unanimous in their desire to see the aliens leave their city, if not planet Earth, but certain parties are more interested in keeping the prawns around to harness the power of their weapons technology.

The film's plot is really set into action with the decision by Multinational United (MNU), the military contractor who manages District 9, to move the prawns 200 miles out of Johannesburg, to a tent city, really a concentration camp, aptly named District 10. Enter Wikus Van De Merwe, the bumbling MNU official who happens to be married to his boss's daughter. The film is clearly taking a shot at the Iraq War and the slimy military contractors who have mismanaged it. Wikus has been handpicked by his father-in-law to lead an eviction notice-serving mission in District 9. Needless to say the mission doesn't get off to a smooth start. It's the first time we see MNU interacting with the prawns, and it is brutally violent. They are treated roughly at best, killed indiscriminately at worst. In one disturbing scene Wikus and other MNU personnel set fire to several prawn eggs, calling it an abortion, laughing as the developing prawns pop inside their eggs "like popcorn." Watching Wikus coerce prawns to sign their eviction notices is like a refraction of tenants being ousted from their neighborhoods and deposited into housing projects during periods of urban renewal in cities in the United States and elsewhere. It's upsetting and unsettling to see how MNU personnel treat the prawns. I don't want to reveal much more about what unfolds, but suffice it to say that what follows is a taut sci-fi action thriller. While I'll concede that the plot, when stripped to the bones, is probably the underlying template of a thousand other action/suspense movies, District 9 is so well written, acted, directed and edited that it doesn't fall prey to the trappings of the multiple genres it encompasses: sci-fi, action, thriller, war.

The film combines documentary style, talking head footage with security camera footage, hand held camerawork, and even a sequence with the camera mounted on an actor (which immediately reminded me of Aronofsky). The cinematography recalls films like Cloverfield, and it serves the same purpose here: to convey urgency. Adding to this is the film's sense of time. More than once the time of day is displayed on screen, and always with the running seconds too, emphasizing that urgency. We also receive periodic updates on how much time has lapsed since the film's key catastrophic event. The film keeps you tight in its grip through most of its almost two hour running time. The visual effects, done by Image Engine Design, are quite impressive. The creatures are realistic and the mother ship is a thing of beauty. In a nod to Aliens, a mechanical, weaponized suit is donned later in the film, and again the visual effects in aid of this do not disappoint.

The historical parallels to the film are many. District 9 is most obviously an examination of apartheid in South Africa, but racial segregation, subjugation and oppression are experienced the world over, throughout history. Is apartheid so far removed from segregation in the United States? The film's HUMANS ONLY promotional signage eerily recalls the WHITES ONLY signage under Jim Crow. Next stop Nazi Germany--in addition to the fact that MNU is moving the prawns to a concentration camp, they've been performing medical experiments on them from the beginning. The basic principle is the same in each situation: one group asserts their own supremacy, subjugating another group or groups, exploiting and/or exterminating them. I couldn't help but also see parallels to animal testing and animal agriculture. Subjugation is a powerful theme, so requires a light touch, and Neill Blomkamp (who directed and cowrote) proves himself to be the man for the job, presenting the situation as it is, allowing it to speak for itself. I think part of District 9's success in not being heavy handed in its representations of the oppressed prawns is that the oppression serves as the context for the film (and is certainly ever present), but it is not the subject of the film. None of that would matter, though, if you didn't care about the characters, and I did care...about the two lead prawn characters. That's part of the genius of this film: the main point of identification is not Wikus, it's the prawns, specifically a father/son pair. When was the last time you had an emotional investment in a computer generated movie character?

One negative criticism I have seen lobbed at the film is that District 9 is little more than a collection of references to other movies. Though the film does pay homage to several genre predecessors (The Fly (1986), Alien Nation and Aliens just to name a few), and bears similarities to an even wider array of movies (the aforementioned Cloverfield, Children of Men, 28 Days Later), District 9 is not simply the sum of its influences. It's a startlingly original film, one capable of breathing life back into genres gone stale. A new bar has been set.

So where does District 9 fit in amongst the roster of summer releases? It doesn't--it sits above them. I've seen several films this summer, but none of them has taken me all the way to the WOW place. District 9 met and exceeded my expectations. Its action is more compelling (and coherent) than anything in Revenge of the Fallen. Its CGI is more impressive than the cartoonish appearance of G.I. Joe. Its atmosphere and mood are as weighty as Moon's, and its ability to keep you on edge is as potent as The Hurt Locker's ability to do the same. I don't think there's any question that District 9 is the sleeper hit of the summer, and I predict it will be on more than a few top 10 lists at the end of the year. Considering that once August hits, the biggest releases of the summer are behind us, District 9 is almost completely free of competition and stands a chance at becoming hugely successful. My fingers are crossed not only for the success of the film, but also in the hope that Neill Blomkamp lives up to the promise of it.

FFFF score: 9.6/10

Next Friday's film: Inglourious Basterds