not all rebounds are equal. some are surely more equal than others. as per animals according to orwell's napolean. peter jackson's risen phoenix which is the reinvented shelved halo vidgame under the inspired direction of neill blomkamp is if nothing else, proof of exactly that. district 9.
shot relatively low budget for the spectacular degree of CGI, creature effects/execution at 30 million USD, faux verite with handheld camera [primarily the red-one] encapsulating the cloverfield/blair witch ethos precedent for capturing mood & elevated drama in a pseudo-documentative style blending archival news footage, and gritty realism for a interpecies fleshfest deliciously remimiscent in the gory scenes of peter jackson's formative meet the feebles, braindead and of course bad taste years.
the story by blomkamp is derived from an earlier short he made called "alive in joburg" which investigated race relations utilising the alien metaphor.this marriage between the more arguably socio-political commentative blomkamp & splatter king jackson is a perfect one.
in a sky above johannesburg dominated for almost 30 years by a spaceship which ran out of gas... the refugee camps beneath an indictment to the continued apartheid separating the non-humans [derogatory colloquialism = prawn]from "the general populace" in rubbled rerouted slums. a new reviled underclass is born. and thus homosapiens finally unite. exploitation & entrepreneurship serve us well in a world emmulating pre ANC political gains post mandela's release where politically correct speak buffered through paperwork/signage chillingly & matter of fact undermines equality.
characterisation is brilliant with a capital B with the weasel-like afrikaan MNU operative wikus van der merwe [sharlto copley] traversing the emotional milieu with such credibility the space between seat & screen completely disappeared. then there were the prawns. who were far more idealistically human than exploitive war-mongering humanity itself... aah, hobbes.
this brilliantly constructed film rendered me speechless till well after the credits were done rolling [a wingnut production houses an endless plethora of magic-making love on the roll credits] & still almost does in awe & reverence on multiple levels. it's time had come.
district 9 is the rome which all the yellow brick roads were leading to; in strategy, story and style. and oh how the well met paths deliver [the romans had extremely distinct sub-classes interwoven into the fabric of their much revered society. women and slaves as one]. it is undoubtedly the film of the year. it is most definitely a defining film of the sci-fi genre. as a chilling xenophobic commentary it is disturbingly accurate. and much much more.
this is a film to fall in & out of lust with in rapid succession. on the heels of another apparent more fitting contender. try it at a cinema near home. so much more splatter to love. i'm doing it again. and again.
[images ripped with love from the ever obliging interwebs. merci.]
great post! it's such a fantastic film
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