Arrival (film)

Arrival is a 2016 American science fiction drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Eric Heisserer, based on the 1998 novella "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang. The film stars Amy Adams as Louise Banks, a linguist engaged by the United States Army to discover how to communicate with extraterrestrials who have arrived on Earth, before tensions lead to war. Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, and Michael Stuhlbarg appear in supporting roles. Arrival had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2016, and was released theatrically in the United States by Paramount Pictures on November 11, 2016. It grossed $203 million worldwide and received widespread acclaim with praise directed towards Adams's performance, Villeneuve's direction, and the exploration of communication with extraterrestrial intelligence. Considered one of the best films of 2016, Arrival appeared on numerous critics' year-end lists and was selected by the American Film Institute as one of ten "Movies of the Year". It received eight nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay, winning Best Sound Editing. For her performance, Adams received nominations for a BAFTA, SAG, Critics' Choice; at the 74th Golden Globe Awards, Adams was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and Jóhann Jóhannsson was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. The film was awarded the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 2017. The score by Jóhann was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 60th Grammy Awards.

Plot Linguist Louise Banks's daughter Hannah dies at the age of twelve from an incurable illness. Twelve extraterrestrial spacecraft hover over various locations around the Earth. In the ensuing widespread panic, affected nations send military and scientific experts to monitor and study them. In the United States, US Army Colonel Weber recruits Banks and physicist Ian Donnelly to study the craft above Montana. On board, Banks and Donnelly make contact with two cephalopod-like, seven-limbed aliens, whom they call "heptapods"; Donnelly nicknames them Abbott and Costello. Banks and Donnelly research the complex written language of the heptapods, consisting of phrases written with logograms, and share the results with other nations. As Banks studies the language, she starts to have flashback-like visions of her daughter. When Banks is able to establish sufficient shared vocabulary to ask why the heptapods have come, they answer with a statement that could be translated as "offer weapon". China interprets this as "use weapon", prompting them to break off communications, and other nations follow. Banks argues that the symbol interpreted as "weapon" can be more abstractly related to the concepts of "means" or "tool"; China's translation likely results from interacting with the heptapods using mahjong, a highly competitive game. Meanwhile, the Russian team receives a message that they translate as "there is no time," which they interpret as a possible threat. Rogue soldiers plant a bomb in the Montana craft. Unaware, Banks and Donnelly reenter the alien vessel, and the aliens give them a more complex message. Just before the bomb explodes, one of the aliens ejects Donnelly and Banks from the vessel, knocking them unconscious. When they wake, the heptapod craft has moved beyond reach and the US military is preparing to evacuate in case of retaliation. General Shang of China issues an ultimatum to the alien craft in China, demanding that it leave within 24 hours. Russia, Pakistan, and Sudan follow suit; communications between the international research teams are terminated as worldwide panic sets in. Donnelly discovers that the symbol for time is present throughout the message and that the writing occupies exactly one-twelfth of the 3D space into which it is projected. Banks suggests that the full message is split between the twelve craft and that the heptapods want all the nations to collaborate in order to decipher it. Banks goes alone to the Montana craft, which sends down a transport pod. Abbott has been mortally injured as a result of the explosion. Costello explains that they have come to help humanity, because in 3,000 years' time they will need humanity's help in return. Banks realizes the "weapon" is their language. Learning the language alters humans' linear perception of time, allowing them to experience memories of future events. Banks's visions of her daughter are revealed to be premonitions; her daughter will not be born until sometime in the future. Banks returns to the camp as it is being evacuated and tells Donnelly that the aliens' language is the "tool" that was meant by the word "weapon". She experiences a premonition of a United Nations event celebrating global unity achieved by finally deciphering the heptapods' language. At the event, General Shang thanks Banks for persuading him to stop the attack when she called his private number and recited his wife's dying words. He then shows her his private number and whispers his wife's words into her ear. In the present, Banks takes CIA agent Halpern's satellite phone from a table and calls Shang's private number to recite the words. The Chinese announce that they are standing down and releasing their twelfth of the message. The other countries follow suit, and the twelve spacecraft depart. From what she has learned, Banks writes and publishes a book called The Universal Language, a guide to the heptapod language, which will eventually teach humanity to perceive time the same way as the heptapods. During the evacuation, Donnelly expresses his love for Banks. They talk about their life choices and whether he would change them if he could see his life from beginning to end. Banks knows that she will agree to have a child with him despite knowing their fate: that Hannah will die from an incurable disease and that Donnelly will leave them both as a result of her revealing that she knew this. As they embrace, Banks reminisces about the last time Donnelly will hug her.

Cast

Production

Development and pre-production

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