Whether human or non-human, District 9 is an alien movie that you should not miss!
Artwork by Rebecca Holt
In 2005, a newcomer director named Neill Blomkamp created a six minute-long short film titled Alive in Joburg. The short film, being a hit among audiences and Peter Jackson (producer of the Lord of the Rings saga), was later turned into the fiction mocumentary-style feature film, District 9.
In the South African town of Johannesburg, citizens are going about their everyday lives. That is until a huge saucer-like spaceship stops in midair, hovering over the town. An exploratory team, going inside the craft, discovers many unhealthy insect-like extraterrestrial species which they name “prawns,” as that is the only familiar Earth creature that resembles them. Deciding to let them stay in Johannesburg, the “prawns” are given residence, living among the humans. However, once they become destructive, many citizens start to worry, and resolve to a solution: relocating the aliens to a secured government camp called District 9. I thought the opening was very unique in its use of documentary technique, interviewing Johannesburg residents who gave their opinion on the alien invasion.
Once District 9 begins to turn into a slum, a private military corporation, Multinational United (MNU), is assigned the task of relocating the aliens, again, to District 10, a camp 240 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg. Field operative, Wikus van de Merwe (newcomer Sharlto Copley), leads this operation, serving the aliens eviction notices. Like the other so-called prawns, one named “Christopher Johnson” refuses to be evicted, as he has a little prawn to look after, thus forcing Wikus to raid his shack. While inside, Wikus discovers a small canister containing a mysterious liquid. Unfortunately, once he touches it, some of the liquid sprays onto his face.
Feeling excruciating pain that night, Wikus is taken to a hospital where his left forearm mutates into that of an alien. Once MNU discovers that he can be used as a weapon, Wikus is taken into custody. When I found out what MNU was doing to the prawns, I could not help but feel sorry for them, as they were used for MNU homicidal experiments. In my opinion, MNU should be the ones living in the slums of District 9, not the aliens, who just wanted to return to their home planet. While District 9 was very original, being unique when compared to other alien movies, I felt it lacked a main sci-fi component: action. The action District 9 did deliver though was not until the last 15 minutes and reminded me of this summer’s Transformers, and G.I. Joe, as Wikus was fighting MNU in a mechanical droid-like machine.
Said to be this year’s Cloverfield, Sony Pictures (who distributed District 9) created a marketing campaign, wanting to advertise the movie secretly. The main advertising symbol, a crossed-out prawn silhouette, was displayed on billboards, banners, posters, and stickers, in many cities. Even bus stops advertised District 9, having signs that said, “This bus stop is for humans only.” If one approaches a “non-human,” they are told to report them by calling the toll-free number, 1-866-666-6001, and then log on to http://www.d-9.com. Once gaining access to this site, anyone who has not seen District 9 might think it is for a top-secret government agency, as it looks like a site MNU would operate.
While District 9 does not deliver much action until the end (many of the scenes are a bit violent), it has an original plot, as War of the Worlds, and The Day the Earth Stood Still, mainly focus on the citizens. District 9 however, focuses on the aliens and how harsh their lives are in District 9.
Rating: ★★★★☆
