District 9
I remember that “District 9” was the other movie besides “Inglorious Basterds”, which of course is absolutely incomparable. Ignoring IB for now, I think that “District 9” is doing a great job considering that I have expected something completely different.
What I expected was a stylish science fiction movie, somewhat Matrix-style, with lots of action scenes, perhaps a cute love story and the usual sociocriticism. I was so, so wrong. The biggest shock was the documentary style, I’ll be honest. Unfortunately I haven’t read about it anywhere, and it completely took me by surprise – it’s so unique after all, especially for the science fiction genre.
Mostly, hand cameras give me a headache, and I need some time to adjust to them; so after perhaps 30 minutes into the movie, I was okay.
Another thing I did not expect as much was the gripping emotions that came with the film: The talks with the wife, the moment when Christopher sees his dead friend… I think the film is wonderful at transporting yourself into the film, much more so than your average action and science fiction movie. This is the point where I have come to accept the weird documentary style and Wikus’ accent. (“FOACK!!!” XD)
Visually, “District 9” surely is brutal and gory (I was eating lunch while watching the majority of it, mind you!), but I think it contributes to the atmosphere. Kobo Abe would have much fun analyzing why the aliens look like insects, and the more the movie progresses and turns more into your 2009 action movie, the more I like the splashing dead bodies.
When I think about “The Dark Knight” or “Inglorious Basterds”, I can easily understand that “District 9” did worse, but I am still glad to see that mainstream films can be at this level. I only wished I had been able to see this film with somebody else, let alone in a movie theater. That’s what “District 9” was made for.