So after a long time of having to wait, I finally got to see District 9 last night. I’d been careful to avoid listening to too many reviews or spoilers because I really wanted to experience this movie on its own merits and not just follow the hype. I’ve got to say that I’m glad I did, because it proved just how good this movie is.
The first half of the movie is shot in documentary style, with interviews and stock news footage that really succeed in making you feel as if this event actually happened. Some movies have tried this method and failed (*cough*Cloverfield*cough*), but this absolutely worked to draw you into the world they’ve created. About halfway through the film, they switch to a more traditional storytelling method in order to follow the main character in situations that obviously a film-crew wouldn’t be around for. The form is inventive and pretty brave, but totally works for this situation. The film itself is visually stunning. The aliens look so realistic, you don’t pay attention to the fact that it’s CGI, but you actually start to build an emotional connection with them. The city of Johannesburg is very interesting just to watch and to connect with a skyline that isn’t New York City or Chicago. I’ve recently become interested in the city as I’ve been listening to the podcast of a church based there in the city and I think that it’s one place I would definitely like to visit at some point in my life.
The basic story is that 20 years ago, a huge alien ship arrived on Earth, hovering over the South African city of Johannesburg. The aliens, derogatively called ‘Prawns’ by the humans, are stranded on Earth for reasons unknown. Since there are upwards of 2 million of them, the world government places them in a holding zone, basically a fortified internment camp not unsimilar to what we placed Japanese-Americans in during WWII. Over the last 20 years, this camp (District 9) has become a slum. The aliens are treated like vermin and the whole situation stinks like apartheid. Then a human agent is exposed to an alien compound that has the negative side-effect of turning him into a prawn. This makes his DNA very valuable to his corporate bosses who need to learn how to utilize the aliens bio-mechanical weapons. He escapes and of course is taken in by the prawns in District 9 where his personal prejudices are challenged by the fact that only they have the ability to heal him. A lot of action and awesomeness ensue as he teams up with a prawn to eventually overcome his hatred and help to save their species.
Two things that I mostly noticed about this movie: First of all, this whole movie was shot on the Red Camera. The Red Camera is THE hot item in the video world right now. It’s digital rather than film, is fairly compact, but shoots probably the most incredible and detailed high-definition video of any camera on the market ever. The footage that comes off of these cameras is, in my opinion, the best picture you can get. If you ask me, it looks better than actually being there. Mars Hill Church uses these to film their sermons and they maintain that the video is better than what you see live. The other feature that makes this the ultimate camera is that they are cheap! While $18,000 may not sound like a steal, it really is if you’ve ever shopped for professional cameras. Hollywood studios can shoot on five of these for the price of one of their normal film cameras. Honestly, while it’s beyond my wildest dreams to buy one of my own, if I could I would buy one in a heartbeat. This is going to revolutionize the film industry because it allows almost any aspiring filmmaker to get ahold of the best camera on the market. While this will undoubtedly lead to a proliferation of crap being produced, it also means that the gold that has been buried for years in film makers who never get their shot in Hollywood will finally see the light of day thanks to the Red.
Finally, the thing that I enjoyed the most about this movie is the sheer originality. This wasn’t made by Michael Bay or Steven 
Spielberg, this was directed by a virtual unknown, indie film maker Neill Blomkamp, a prodigy of Peter Jackson who produced District 9. It takes place in Johannesburg of all places, not New York, not LA, not even America. The story is unlike anything ever seen before. The parallels between apartheid, the concentration camps, and the genocides in Africa serve to root the emotional foundation for the story in a way that far surpasses the cheap, melodrama that we are offered in less quality films like Transformers 2. For those who say that there are no new ideas and that the movie industry is getting stale, this movie is a shining example that there is a long and exciting future ahead for movie fans.
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