Posted by
Catmman on Saturday, August 15, 2009 1:15:06 PM
Spoiler Alert!
District 9 is a science fiction movie. It centers around an alien ship which comes to rest over Johannesburg, South Africa in the early 1980's. There is no communication from the obvious alien inhabitants. The ship just hovers in mid-air for weeks. Finally, the government of South Africa takes action and cuts its way into the ship. What they find are over one million alien inhabitants - malnourished and in an unhealthy condition.
After the discovery of the aliens and the acknowledgment that they are obviously non-hostile, a multi-national organization, the MNU (patterned after a UN organization) is formed to deal with the aliens. They are ferried from the 'mothership' and set up in refugee camps which quickly turn into slums. Over time, the aliens become fodder for opportunistic criminal African gangs and the South African government attempts to exploit alien technology (primarily weapons), but can't make it work. It is later revealed that the South African government has been using members of the alien race in biological experiments.
Eventually, the residents of Johannesburg (black and white) come to resent the alien (derogatorily termed "Prawns" for their resemblance to shrimp) presence. The MNU decides to forcibly evict the aliens from the slum and move them to another camp. A MNU worker,
Wikus van der Merwe, is put in charge of the operation. He is a genteel fellow, not particularly bright, but a hard worker and a believer that what he and the MNU are doing is the right thing.
While clearing the slum, Wikus is accidentally sprayed with an alien "fluid" (later revealed to be some sort of fuel for the alien spacecraft) and begins suffering a metamorphosis into an alien himself. Not knowing the danger of what just occurred, Wikus confiscates the tube containing the 'fluid' and goes about his duties. At first, he has no idea he is changing. While later clearing the slum, he is injured by an angry alien and his left arm is hurt. It is treated on the scene by medics, wrapped in a bandage and forgotten about. Unbeknownst to him, below the bandage, his left arms turns into an alien appendage.
Upon discovery of this at the hospital, the government takes forcible control over Wikus. Upon experimentation, it is discovered that Wikus can manipulate alien weaponry (which is DNA coded for aliens only). Wikus is made to fire all manner of weaponry at various targets. In a particularly disturbing scene, he is forced to fire a high-energy weapon at a frightened alien, murdering it. After all manner of tests, it is decided that Wikus must be vivesected to further study his metamorphosis. What makes this more disturbing to the viewer, is that Wikus's humanity isn't even a concern to the officials making the decisions. In fact, his own father-in-law (who is a high ranking MNU official) approves the procedure, ignoring Wiku's pleas for help.
Wikus inevitably escapes captivity in the only place he can - the alien slum. He coincidentally seeks refuge in the shack where he was sprayed by the fluid, the shack of the alien 'Christopher'. Christopher discovers what has happened to Wikus and explains to Wikus why he is changing. Christopher explains he can change Wikus back,
if they can get aboard the mothership. To do that, they need the 'fluid'. Both of them hatch a rather inconceivable plan to re-enter the "heavily fortified" MNU headquarters to recover the vial with the alien 'fluid'. They successfully breach the facility and recover the fluid. During their sojourn into MNU HQ, Christopher also discovers his people have been the subject of experimentation, which upsets him greatly.
Wikus and Christopher make their way back to the slum, back into Christopher's shack (which is hiding the buried "control craft" for the alien mothership) and attempt to get to the mothership. The MNU launches a military force to attempt to re-capture Wikus, shooting down the 'control craft'. Gun battle ensues which brings into the fray the African gangs controlling the slums who fight the MNU forces to capture Wikus themselves. The leader of the African gang believes that if he eats Wikus's transformed arm, he himself will be embued with alien power and be able to operate alien weaponry.
After a battle in which Wikus makes his way into an alien "
Mech" suit, Wikus covers for Christopher as he and his son manipulate the mothership and return to it. Christopher vows to return to Wikus to help him (repaying Wikus for his help) but that it will be three years (the travel time to and from Christopher's homeworld).
The movie ends on a semi-cliffhanger note. Wickus is saved from death by aliens who kill the leader of the MNU forces who was about to murder Wikus. Wikus's wife discovers a 'flower' on her doorstep at some time after the incidents, thinking perhaps it was placed there by Wikus. The last shot of the movie shows an alien forming such a flower. Is it a fully transformed Wikus? The movie also ends leaving the questions: Where is Wikus? Will Christopher return someday with a force to liberate his alien brethren and declare war on humanity? What will be the fate of the now 2.5 million aliens that now reside in District 10?
District 9 has an element of 'social commentary'. The issue of
apartheid is touched on, but only briefly. One could make the stretch in equivocation to the resettlement of Palestinians, but this is not inferred explicitly or implicitly in the film. The parallels of race are dealt with fairly I think. Both the white
and black residents of Johannesburg look down on the aliens, thinking of them as less than human if you will pardon the pun.
There is an element of man's inhumanity when it comes to the aliens. The segregation, the experiments, murder, abuse, exploitation. The white controlled South African government is no less hostile to the aliens than the black African gangs who exploit the aliens at every turn. Mankinds 'evil' (at least in Johnannesburg, South Africa) is not determined by the color of his skin.
Think of this movie as "
Alien Nation" if the mothership in that movie had landed anywhere but the United States. In
Alien Nation, the aliens were ultimately assimilated into American culture. In District 9, they are completely segregated outcasts, deemed unworthy.
The movie is shot in part "documentary style". The transition from this style to conventional movie isn't even noticed due to how the movie and characterization seems to draw you in. The effects are good. The interaction between live action and CGI is almost flawless, which is impressive in and of itself.
District 9 is a movie that uses the social commentary of apartheid, racism, segregation, etc as a plot element rather than trying to beat the audience over the head with a grander political point. I think it works. Of the five of us in the family who saw it last night, only the Vice-Commander didn't like it. She's not that much into science fiction anyway.
I was pleasantly surprised with the movie
District 9.
Note: If you aren't into dolling out the sheckles to see this at the movies, it will be a great popcorn movie to rent when it's released on video.