As soon as I first heard about District 9, I started plotting my arguments to convince my husband to see it. The movie, a low-budget production predicted to be a summer blockbuster, sounded like just my kind of film. Science Fiction is my guilty pleasure, but something my husband only barely tolerates.
The premise seemed fascinating, something truly different. A large alien ship comes to a stop over Johannesburg. After months of deliberation, humans board the massive ship and find a population of half-starved aliens who resemble human sized shrimp. The aliens are fed and relocated to a ghetto within Johannesburg called District 9. The movie begins 30 years later. The aliens are reproducing. District 9 is rife with crime and anti-alien sentiment is running high amongst all humans. The movie begins when the South African government hires a contractor to carry out the relocation of District 9 to a more distant camp.
I understand why District 9 got such critical acclaim. It certainly touched on serious questions of human intolerance, racism and moral responsibilities to weaker non-human beings. It was refreshing to see an alien contact scenario where the extra-terrestrials were weaker than humans. But I didn't enjoy District 9.
I enjoyed District 9 so little, in fact, that I found it hard to stay awake.
District 9 was a different brand of Sci Fi than the type I generally enjoy. It provided a dark and gritty vision of the future, devoid of creative technological inventions. The entire movie took place in a decrepit slum filled with rusting shacks. The only different element in the vision from our world as it exists today was the weak prawn population. The aliens, or prawns as the humans called them, were disgusting to look at, with the hundreds of moving tentacles on their faces. The last 30 to 45 minutes of the movie consisted of an incredibly violent gun fight. The blood and gore just added to the somber tone of the movie.
I'm sure plenty of people will find this review shallow and will trumpet the artistic merit of District 9. It just wasn't my type of escapist Sci Fi. I realized that I like my Sci Fi to be filled with special abilities, new technologies, even if the movie's world view is grim. I like to imagine the progress that the human race will make, even if it is just technological progress. Give me space ships, space travel, or cool computers, but spare me scenes of monstrous shrimp foraging through giant piles of garbage for half-eaten cat food. Our world is gruesome enough as it is; I like to escape it for a few hours after paying my $20 at the movie theater.
Of course my husband, the Sci Fi hater, positively loathed District 9. I'll have a tough time convincing him to see the next installment of X-Men or Avatar.
We should have gone to see Julie and Julia instead!
3 comments:
We saw District 9 today. Not only did I have a hard time staying awake, I had a hard time staying in the theatre. If hubby hadn't been with me, I'd of been outta there! They could have covered the whole premise of the story in about 30 minutes and spared us most of the blood, guts, and way too many F-bombs. I had the feeling that they had to extend all the fight and violence scenes cause they couldn't come up with any more story. Hubby wasn't impressed, either, especially with the film technology (which in my opinion was none, even for a low budget flick). The story has(or had)promise, but I was so disappointed. I don't think I'll be seeing District 10!
Great review- I understand what you mean, part of what makes sci-fi fun--even if it's a dystopia--is the new technology. I will definitely wait too see this one.
Bay @queenmotherblog
Shhh, don't tell Mark, but I wasn't a huge fan. He loved it so much he saw it twice - the second time with me because he felt I really, really had to see it.
Now X-Men! That's my kinda movie!
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