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In my review of Moon last month, I wrote that good science fiction is about the present, and that it "comments on the issues of the day by following humanity's trajectory to its inevitable conclusion." District 9 is a noteworthy exception; it uses the guise of science fiction not to warn us of our future, but to delve into our past.
Set in an alternate reality, District 9's world is much like our own, save for one important difference: twenty years earlier, an alien spacecraft broke down over Johannesburg, South Africa. The aliens inside (dubbed "prawns" for their crustacean-like appearance) have no place to go, and are treated like refugees. Apparently from a caste society, and with their leadership dead, most of the survivors are ill-equipped to sustain themselves and quickly become desperate scavengers. The refugee camp devolves into a slum, and tensions between the prawns and the local populace create an inter-species powder keg.
The first third of the film follows Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), and is shot like a documentary. Wikus is a timid man trying to make his way in the MNU (Multinational United), a defense contractor hired to oversee the mass-transportation of the prawns to a new location. There is an eerie, authentic feel to the way the characters in this film have already adjusted to the presence of an alien species. By the time we join the tale any sense of wonder is gone, and MNU resembles just another random bureaucracy.
Something happens to Wikus which I will not reveal, but which forces him to reassess his position and leads him to an unusually bright prawn who has been assigned the name Christopher Johnson. Christopher understands how to lay low, and possesses a patience and technical proficiency that sets him apart from the others. His name is a subtle hint as to his goals.
District 9 is ostensibly about South African apartheid, a fact reinforced in the film's title, location, and Wikus' last name (van de Merwe). The film's allegory is as subtle as a giant alien bazooka (which it also has), though given the relative lack of attention paid to the history of South Africa, the overt approach may be necessary. Unfortunately, this lack of subtly extends to the film's antagonists, who come straight out of the Big Book of Movie Villains. In a movie otherwise devoid of cliché, the motivation of the bad guys stands out all the more.
For all the focus on moral tragedies, there isn't much moral insight here; the themes District 9 touches on are uncomplicated. But the subject matter is so potent, and the performances so authentic, that it hardly seems to matter. Few people need to be reminded that we don't know what we're capable of when our backs are against the wall, but Copley (making his first feature film appearance) gives this two-dimensional message extra depth with his performance. His fall from grace is simple and believable, and his desperation to keep the life he's built for himself is heartbreaking.
The effects work is seamless; the prawns look as real as the humans alongside them. With a budget around $30 million, and along with Moon, and 2007's Sunshine, it seems as if we've entered a period where even ambitious, thoughtful science fiction can be made affordably.
Most of District 9's events have an innate credibility, from the desperate circumstances that must exist before the two species can work together, to the way Wikus and Christopher clearly put their own goals first even as they come to trust each other. The film never loses sight of the fact that, though the two have a bond of sorts, their relationship is one of mutual benefit. They are forced together through necessity, but both must take things on faith alone if either is to survive.
Don't let the subject matter fool you: there are no exploding landmarks or one-line catchphrases. District 9 is about the ways in which even good people can fall victim to the systems they create, and illustrates man's inhumanity to man via man's inhumanity to prawn.
Set in an alternate reality, District 9's world is much like our own, save for one important difference: twenty years earlier, an alien spacecraft broke down over Johannesburg, South Africa. The aliens inside (dubbed "prawns" for their crustacean-like appearance) have no place to go, and are treated like refugees. Apparently from a caste society, and with their leadership dead, most of the survivors are ill-equipped to sustain themselves and quickly become desperate scavengers. The refugee camp devolves into a slum, and tensions between the prawns and the local populace create an inter-species powder keg.
The first third of the film follows Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), and is shot like a documentary. Wikus is a timid man trying to make his way in the MNU (Multinational United), a defense contractor hired to oversee the mass-transportation of the prawns to a new location. There is an eerie, authentic feel to the way the characters in this film have already adjusted to the presence of an alien species. By the time we join the tale any sense of wonder is gone, and MNU resembles just another random bureaucracy.
Something happens to Wikus which I will not reveal, but which forces him to reassess his position and leads him to an unusually bright prawn who has been assigned the name Christopher Johnson. Christopher understands how to lay low, and possesses a patience and technical proficiency that sets him apart from the others. His name is a subtle hint as to his goals.
District 9 is ostensibly about South African apartheid, a fact reinforced in the film's title, location, and Wikus' last name (van de Merwe). The film's allegory is as subtle as a giant alien bazooka (which it also has), though given the relative lack of attention paid to the history of South Africa, the overt approach may be necessary. Unfortunately, this lack of subtly extends to the film's antagonists, who come straight out of the Big Book of Movie Villains. In a movie otherwise devoid of cliché, the motivation of the bad guys stands out all the more.
For all the focus on moral tragedies, there isn't much moral insight here; the themes District 9 touches on are uncomplicated. But the subject matter is so potent, and the performances so authentic, that it hardly seems to matter. Few people need to be reminded that we don't know what we're capable of when our backs are against the wall, but Copley (making his first feature film appearance) gives this two-dimensional message extra depth with his performance. His fall from grace is simple and believable, and his desperation to keep the life he's built for himself is heartbreaking.
The effects work is seamless; the prawns look as real as the humans alongside them. With a budget around $30 million, and along with Moon, and 2007's Sunshine, it seems as if we've entered a period where even ambitious, thoughtful science fiction can be made affordably.
Most of District 9's events have an innate credibility, from the desperate circumstances that must exist before the two species can work together, to the way Wikus and Christopher clearly put their own goals first even as they come to trust each other. The film never loses sight of the fact that, though the two have a bond of sorts, their relationship is one of mutual benefit. They are forced together through necessity, but both must take things on faith alone if either is to survive.
Don't let the subject matter fool you: there are no exploding landmarks or one-line catchphrases. District 9 is about the ways in which even good people can fall victim to the systems they create, and illustrates man's inhumanity to man via man's inhumanity to prawn.