District 9

Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 was the subject of some fairly heavy duty viral marketing prior to its release. Sony Pictures “Humans Only” campaign that aped the segregational signs seen in the film (complete with toll-free numbers to report alien activity) succeeded in piqueing the interest of cinema-goers by providing clues to its alternate reality. With a US opening weekend that saw it ranked number 1, grossing just under $37.5 million, and worldwide takings of $127 million as of last Sunday, the response to pre-release marketing must be satisfying for those involved.

Critical response has been mainly positive as well, and it’s true that there’s much to like about the film. Wikus van de Merwe’s stuttering metamorphosis from a sadistic, agenda driven bureaucrat to the figure we see in the final shot avoids cliches for the main. It’s a rough transition that often sees Sharlto Copley’s van de Merwe regress a stage in his development, and fight his changing perception every step of the way. Some have criticised the final act, complaining of too much “standard sci-fi shoot-em-up action”, but it's not overly forced, mostly deriving organically from the story.

The visuals are beautiful, and Blomkamp’s splicing of multi-person testimonials with news reports and events as they happened fits this particular story’s telling perfectly: The level of vitriolic hostility towards the alien settlers is immediately evident, and overall, the mockumentary element succeeds in shining a huge bright light on small-mindedness while warning of its potential consequences.

The world and its mother knows that the film was partly inspired by events that occurred in South Africa during the apartheid era, and deals with the issues of xenophobia and social segregation. All the questions and debate it raises centre around concepts and attitudes that need to be dissected now more than ever. Alive In Joburg, Blomkamp’s short from which the film is adapted, had greater overt links to immigration and asylum seeking, with the aliens being captive labour who had “escaped” to Earth, only to be segregated- District 9 doesn’t completely eradicate these elements, but most of the coverage has ignored these implications of the film’s commentary, choosing to focus on apartheid-like examples of the mistreatment certain internal segments of a population can face.

It’s well worth seeing, each act raises it’s own questions and points of interest, and you’ll end up talking about this one for quite a while after leaving the theatre. If nothing else, the dangers of completely privatising service providers and potential for abuse inherent in private military companies should be highlighted to everyone. Me? I left the cinema wondering about the unanswered questions of the narrative itself, and must admit I found myself hoping that Christopher Johnson returned to Earth three years later as promised, this time leading an invasion force.

Written by: Andy Mac Laughlin

Reviewers Rating: 7.5
Reader's Rating: 7.00
Reader's Votes: 1

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