Movie Night: “District 9”
There was a leaked R5 version of District 9 on the web. Watching only the first two minutes was enough for me to realize it’s a decent film so I decided to go and watch in cinema and it was money well spent. Coming from a director who’s directing his first feature film (had directed three sci-fi short films before) and a bunch of VFS(Vancouver film school) 90’s graduates, the film takes a brand new approach towards aliens.
” In 1990, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed “The Prawns,” appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new ‘Prawn’ friends. (imdb.com)”
The screenplay written by Terri Tatchell (Graduated from Vancouver Film School’s Writing for Film and Television program in 2001) and Neill Blomkamp the director, is an adoption of a short film directed by Blomkamp; “Alive In Joburg” (2005) which is basally a mini D9!
The D9’s story has many layers and apart from the surface which is about these trapped aliens on earth forced to live in concentration camps and government on the other hand trying to understand their technology (mainly weapons), a lot more can be understood from the concept, as if these aliens aren’t really aliens but a representation of a group of people. The documentary look of the film mainly created using handheld shots helps the audience to find the story more believable. “Because of the amount of hand-held shooting required for the film, the producers and crew decided to shoot using the digital Red One camera.Cinematographer Trent Opaloch used nine digital Red One’s owned by Peter Jackson for primary filming, as well as several Sony EX1 and EX3s(W).” The story is designed to make you accept the aliens as a minority group living on earth for nearly 30 years so for a pretty long period nothing happens which might be boring for some audiences (I saw a few old couples leaving after half an hour of the film)but necessary for the director to achieve his goal and I believe the result was really good.
The VFX (designed by Weta Workshop ) blends perfectly with the live footage and portrays a very realistic environment where aliens and humans are co-exciting.However, the characters were designed by Image Engine; a Vancouver based VFX company. D9 was their first serious test in designing VFX for film.
D9 with no doubt is one of the best films of this summer if not the best one! and a true sci-fi experience as unlike many other sci-fi films this time the quality of the story goes even beyond the complexity of visual effects. Neill Blomkamp has introduced himself as a very talented director but whether this was just a lucky break for him or a born of a director with a very unique vision is yet to be seen.