District 9
From FilmFile
Taglines:
- You are not welcome here.
Contents |
Synopsis
An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.
Review
District 9 is a stunningly powerful and smart film, made all the more impressive by the fact it was made on a relatively low $30 million. Putting aside the oft discussed analogy to apartheid in South Africa (the setting for the film), and looking at it as a pure sci-fi film, it stands as one of the finest examples of the genre in the modern day.
The film is shot with a very documentary feel, with the events of the film being referenced at times by interviewees apparently filmed after the events. Fake news reports, rough footage, and security camera shots intermesh with the film to really grip you and throw you into the film. The detail and method of delivery lends a credibility to the film, and it is easy to latch on, suspend disbelief, and connect with the characters.
The film begins by running a brief news-reel style history of the aliens coming to Earth, telling how their craft seemed to break down over Johannesburg 20 years ago, and the 'prawns' (as they are referred to) are now residing in a secure shanty-town, segregated from humanity. A program is being put in place to relocate them, and Wikus (the lead character), a normal everyday worker for the security forces, nothing more than a pen-pusher, is put in charge of getting them all to sign agreements and move out of District 9. During these attempts, we follow him documentary style, with him explaining to the camera his actions each step. It is in these moments early on that we come to realise how well created and thought out the aliens are. Initially you think they are dangerous, thanks to a few fleetingly brutal and shocking moments of aggression, but then we are shown that they are just like us, with families and desires. Their situation is just that they are marooned on a planet that doesn't want them, and want desperately to go home.
Contact with an alien chemical has a genetic-level affect on Wikus, and he soon finds himself in danger from multiple sides as forces want to use him to unlock the alien technologies that humanity cannot operate. It is for this last half of the film that it switches from drama and documentary to action, a stark contrast to what came before, but by this point you are absorbed in the film and are willing to go with the flow.
The look of the 'prawns', at first glance, looks more alien and disturbing than other representations of life from another world, but we get in close to some of them we begin to see the compassion, and emotion in the eyes which conveys many facets of their nature. The subtitled dialogue of the creatures is very natural, with none of the 'alien' style toning most other sci-fi uses. No, in here, the creatures are (for want of a better term) as human as we are.
Whether you want a action fest, or a serious sci-fi, or a thought provoking tale, District 9 offers all three. The ending hints at further stories, and the writer/director has hinted at sequels sometime in the future. I, for one, would love to see them come to fruition.
Trivia
- As part of the marketing campaign in North America, posters were put up in major cities on bus stops, the sides of buildings, etc. designating areas that were restricted for humans only, with a number to call (866.666.6001) in order to report non-humans. The title of the film was generally not included, although the URL address for the film's official website was.
- The initial premise of the whole film is based on the Short Film Alive in Joburg (2005), written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, which depicted in a documentary-style the struggles of social interaction between aliens and inhabitants of Johannesburg ("Joburg"), South Africa.
- Star Sharlto Copley had not acted before and had no intention of pursuing an acting career. He stumbled into the leading role as Neill Blomkamp placed him on-camera during the short film.
- All of the "prawns" in the film are CGI with the sole exception of the ones on the operating table in the medical lab. All of the speaking aliens were performed by one actor, Jason Cope, who also played the role of the lead alien Christopher Johnson and narrator Grey Bradnam. The dialogue for the speaking aliens was ad-libbed by Cope, and dubbed over in post production.
- The mutilated animal carcasses in the background of many scenes were real and with only a few exceptions, were already in the real slums and shacks used for the filming.
- All the shacks in District 9 were actual shacks that exists in a section of Johannesburg which were to be evacuated and the residents moved to better government housing, paralleling the events in the film. Also paralleling, the residents had not actually been moved out before filming began. The only shack that was created solely for filming was Christopher Johnson's shack.
- The creatures used in the small fighting arena were meant to be rodents/pests which were aboard the ship.
- After the feature film based on the Halo (2001) (VG) video game series which was to be directed by Neill Blomkamp fell through, producer Peter Jackson went to Blomkamp and offered him $30 million to make whatever he wanted. The result was this film.
- Several Afrikaans curse words can be heard throughout the film, including 'doos' or 'poes' (both of which are slang terms for a vagina), fok/fokken (which means "f**k/f**king"), and 'bliksem' (which is equivalent to "bastard"). Also at some point, a sniper says "Kom na pappa toe", which translates to "Come to daddy".
- The extremely large sniper rifle used to disable Wikus's armored suit is an actual weapon, the Denel NTW-20 20mm anti-material rifle. Appropriately, it is manufactured in South Africa.
- Around six different endings were created during filming.
- Sharlto Copley ad-libbed all his lines.
- When Wikus is using the alien walker robot, he is seen picking up a pig carcass and launch it with something resembling an anti-gravity gun, a weapon type made widely known through the computer game Half-Life 2 (2004) (VG).
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