Every once in a while you see a film that just floors you. A film that has an incredible story, exceptional performances, amazing visuals, and just does everything right. While I’d love to say Hollywood releases tons of movies like this, the truth is that they don’t. Usually even great movies that are enjoyed in the moment are quickly forgotten. But that wasn’t the case after I sawDenis Villeneuve’s sci-fi dramaArrival. After the screening I kept thinking about the story and what it meant. I even woke up the following day thinking about certain scenes. That’s when I knew I’d seen something special, and since that screening I’ve been telling everyone I know, “youneedto see this film.”
If you’re not familiar withArrival, it’s based on theTed Chiangshort storyStory of Your Lifeand revolves around a linguist (Amy Adams) who is recruited to assist in confronting an alien species that has landed on Earth. Ships appear over a number of areas all around the world, but humanity has no means of communicating with the species to find out what they want. Adams’ character, alongside a mathematician played byJeremy Renner, sets out to find a way to talk with the aliens. The film also starsForest WhitakerandMichael Stuhlbarg. you may readBrian Formo’s review here.
With the film now available on Blu-ray and digital formats, I recently sat down with director Denis Villeneuve for an exclusive video interview. He talked about why he wanted the world ofArrivalto be realistic, creating “dirty” sci-fi, whyArrivalwas the most challenging edit session of his career, why he loves one word titles, how he doesn’t like to shoot coverage, and more. In addition, with Villeneuve currently in the editing room onBlade Runner 2049, he talked about how that’s going, and working with cinematographerRoger Deakins. Finally we ended the interview talking about his next project,Dune, and how he’s loved the property since he was 13. And while nothing is yet written, it will be his next movie, and he will start working on it in the next few weeks.
Check out what he had to say in the video above and below is exactly what we talked about.
Denis Villeneuve:
