Mountain FogDISTRICT 9 REVIEW
January 3rd 2010 04:49
Official Poster copyrighted (see below)
Director and co-writer (District 9) Neill Blomkamp is one to watch out for! This film is a ripper! The effects never appear contrived, the action is realistic and the pace of the story builds up to a rush blooded with the anguish and fate of its main protagonist. However, at first, I felt it was going to be a little lame, with the 'in house' corny promotional doco approach, which introduces the main character to the audience, but do not let the droll beginning fool you, for the way the introduction sets up the rest of the film is very clever.
New comer to film work, Sharlto Copley, plays the hapless Wikus van de Merwe, a worker at the MNU Department for Relations with Extraterrestrial Civilizations. His job is to serve eviction notices on aliens, (everyone calls them "prawns"), who have, until now, been kept largely isolated from humans in an area known as District 9, an ugly shanty town on the outskirts of the city.
The notion of isolation in poverty and forced hostile containment has extremely obvious comparisons to the apartheid era, and in fact, the film is based on a short film made by Blomkamp and Copely, Alive in Joburg, which was inspired by real events in Cape Town, in a place known as District 6, during the worst of the apartheid era.
However, this film is not just a morality play using metaphors for the human condition, causing one to (now comfortably) reflect upon life as experienced in South Africa during their abominable apartheid era, it is also a reminder, that such deep seated fears and hostility are not banished to the past, but live on today, they morph and evolve, they jump from one 'species' to another, always the newest arrival, the immigrant, seems doomed to have the sins of the past visited upon them by those who were once on the receiving end of bigotry themselves.
The "prawns", we never learn their actual race name, are regarded as dumb, probably abandoned as convicts or defectives, and sent to Earth in some sort of act of banishment.
We learn, naturally, some are indeed seemingly stupid, some aggressive and some timid, and the odd one is extremely smart, just like us humans, funnily enough.
This film can be enjoyed on a number of levels, as it entertains everyone; from those who just want to see a sci-fi flick with lots of action and great special effects, to those who want to delve deeper, and use it as a sounding board for their own prejudices and preconceptions.
The film was largely shot on location, in an actual shanty town area, in South Africa, known as Chiawelo, Soweto.
A most enjoyable film, and amazing considering that it was shot for $30 million, well worth seeing again.
Peter Jackson was the producer, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell.
Starring
Sharlto Copley
Jason Cope
Robert Hobbs
Music by Clinton Shorter
Cinematography Trent Opaloch
Editing by Julian Clarke
Studio WingNut Films
QED International
Key Creatives
Wintergreen Productions
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Release date(s) August 13, 2009 (2009-08-13)
02009-08-14 August 14, 2009
(United States)
Running time 112 minutes
Country New Zealand
United States
Language
English
Nyanja
Afrikaans
POSTER: OFFICIAL AMERICAN RELEASE POSTER. COPYRIGHT AND OWNERSHIP PRESUMED THAT OF THE PRODUCTION COMPANY AND/OR DISTRIBUTOR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
POSTER IMAGE: Fair Use Rationale: low resolution not for copying, used as illustration of film marketing for purposes of online review only.
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Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
tanx for dropping by.
Yes, it was a great film and one of those that deserve a second viewing, considering the pace of it.
Can't wait to see the next installment, when "Charles" returns with his mates!
cheers
fog