By Michael Hillarrd
By Michael Hillarrd |
The aliens are deliberately made to appear disgusting: located somewhere between insects and crustaceans on the evolutionary scale, the aliens have hard shells, thin waists, sinewy joints and surprising strength. Humans call them ‘prawns’ because they are bottom-feeding scavengers who root around for food, especially cat food, to which they are addicted. The aliens speak in gurgling clicks, subtitled for our convenience, but they are understood perfectly well by the humans who have been oppressing them for twenty years. For a film set in South Africa, the symbolism of segregation is hard to miss. But Blomkamp chooses never to allude to the country’s past, allowing the audience to draw whatever parallels they choose. A sign outside one South African playground orders, ‘No non-human loitering’. What the aliens apparently lack is a dark liquid that powers not only their ship but their sophisticated weaponry. The humans would love to control those weapons, but activation requires alien DNA. That doesn’t prevent a Nigerian underworld boss, Obesandjo (Eugene Khumbanyiwa), from buying up the illegal alien weapons with cat food.
Heading up the relocation program is a naive bureaucrat named Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley), appointed by his father-in-law, who dislikes Wikus, and sets him up for a fall. An earnest Wikus wades into District 9, trying to get an approval signature from each of the aliens Multinational United (MNU) is moving, to maintain a semblance of legality, but of course, something goes wrong. Suddenly Wikus starts to experience strange physical symptoms, and the shoe is placed firmly on the other foot. Now on the run from MNU, he forms a relationship with Christopher Johnson, a prawn who seems to be smarter than the rest and who has been working for 20 years on a viable mechanism for flying home. District 9 is shot primarily as a mockumentary, largely through ‘news’ footage, corporate videos, surveillance tapes and talking-head interviews. It works wonderfully in drawing the audience into the story and feels fresh and new, unlike any blockbuster you’ve ever seen. That is the key to District 9– it’s different. From the location, to the accents, and particularly the comic touches, the film feels like something unique, despite the many nods to the invasion/ action movies that have come before it. Blomkamp, and producer Peter Jackson, knew that the film had to be hard-hitting (and indeed topical, if you take into account the not-so-subtle racism in the South African subtext) and therefore do not skimp on the violence. The excellent special effects are down to Peter Jackson’s involvement with the project. Post-production was done by the same New Zealand team that produced the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. The pacing is perfect. A slow build to introduce the back-story, followed by a frantic final third, there isn’t a minute wasted. It must be noted that newcomer Sharlto Copley delivers a staggering performance– his first movie role (he is actually a director by trade) challenging him to get across a huge range of emotions, often without dialogue, not to mention the intensely physical aspects of the role. He is one to watch out for in future releases. This film is a stunning calling card from a major new talent. Well done Peter Jackson, for spotting his potential and backing his first feature. An outstanding debut for all involved, ‘District 9’ is highly recommended viewing. Rating: 4.5 out of 5 |
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‘District 9’
The people of Johannesburg have had enough of these visitors and want them out of their city, so a new township is created for them far away: District 10. Relocating the thousands of ‘prawns’ is a job for a private contractor (Multinational United), complete with ruthless mercenaries using serious weaponry.