Review of District 9 (2009) by Joanna B — 28 Feb 2016

The political concept that you can judge a society by how it treats the least of its peoples has always been, but what if you expand that truism beyond individual societies and apply it to the human race? How would we react to interplanetary refugees who are forced into isolation and damned to a scavenger's existence as an unwanted underclass?

Protégé to Sci-Fi heavyweight Peter Jackson, feature-directing and writing novice 30 Year old Neil Blomkamp explores the political subtext of his native South-Africa. Clearly sensitivity towards the social welfare of those displaced through apartheid, Blomkamp's District 9 is a semi-theoretical interstellar adaptation of art imitating life alien-segregation story.

District 9's broad but intriguing premise is simple: what if aliens arrived on earth? Not the gentle and wise humanoids expected but malnourished sub-intelligent intergalactic asylum seekers. What would we do with the poor beings?

This hybrid mock-umentry conveys the illusion of reality. Whisking together raw archival footage of Soweto's grimmest slums, real and fake news footage, home movies, interviews and on-the-spot reportage with flawless insectoid inspired makeup and CGI effects, Blomkamp has delivered a brave almost believable original.

Johannesburg. Present day, news and documentary clips inform that a subjugated and demoralised tin-shack shantytown was erected over 20 years ago in efforts to contain its inhabitants of over one million alien refugees.

Seen a burden and inconvenience, the aliens are ultimately left to fend for themselves. The spaceship shadowed crime-infested containment camp ruled by anarchy, chaos and gang violence is a blight on the human society containing it and public outcry calls for its relocation to a remote settlement outside of view.

Responsibility for the transfer is bestowed upon smarmy pencil-pusher and alien-relations officer Wikus Van Der Merwe (Sharlto Copel). Son-in-.

Law to CEO arms conglomerate Multi-National United (MNU) Merwe's handi-cam captured task is to venture into the corrugated iron camp to advise all alien inhabitants to their impending eviction.

With the aid of MNU's trigger-happy foot soldiers, the casual and contemptuously officious Merwe boasts unsympathetically to the cameras. Engaging the soldiers in racist banter, derogatorily referring to the aliens as "Prawns" and tricking them into signing notices, taunting them with highly desirable cat food, excitedly burning spawn nests and never flinching to the excessive use of gut blasting force all seam acceptable bravado.

But when an unlawful search and seizure exposes Merwe to a mysterious alien fluid, the ensuing spiral of events leaves Merwe fending for himself cowardly hiding within the now protective slum walls.

Receiving assistance from those whom he tortured, Prawn Christopher Johnson and his adorable son CJ instinctively begin to protect that which will become one of their own. The film quickly builds into a video game model of relentless, blood/goo splattered, high-stakes chasing.

The revitalised central idea, authentic design, squelchy sound effects and strong acting delivered by relative unknowns is a direct catalyst to Oscar buzz. Exploring topics like alienation, racism, vivisection and African mysticism without overstepping into the relm of political incorrectness is no small feat.

Sadly some of the disorientating story beats fall into the "unlikely" category and the deliberate ploy to cash in on action fans with the late introduction of a RoboCop-esques exo-suit doesn't manage to drag the film out of its mid-section pace lull.

The Verdict: The idea with this film is the less you know the greater chance you have to enjoy it. The hyperkinetic cerebral stimulation and sheer randomness culminates artfully to deliver a eloquent allegory and genre defying funny, sad and subversive introspective into the possible future of society. What happens when humans lose their humanity?

Published: The Queanbeyan Age.

Date of Publication: 11/09/2009.