Review 112: District 9

District 9 is an incredible and brilliant science fiction action/thriller film, one of the most inventive and original sci fi films to come out in recent years and a great direction debut for writer/director Neill Blomkamp.

Based on Neill Blomkamp's short film: Alive in Joburg In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new 'Prawn' friends.

The plot is literally genius, we get a plot thats sci fi based but also inspired by true events (in this case the Apartheid era). As a result it is very engaging and there was never a dull moment. I was invested the whole way through. 

So what are District 9's themes and how do relate to the Apartheid era?    

Like Alive in Joburg, the short film on which the feature film is based, the setting of District 9 is inspired by historical events that took place in South Africa during the apartheid era, with the film's title particularly alluding to District Six. District Six, an inner-city residential area in Cape Town, was declared a "whites only" area by the government in 1966, with 60,000 people forcibly removed and relocated to Cape Flats, 25 km (15 mi) away. The film also refers to contemporary evictions and forced removals to new suburban ghettos in post-apartheid South Africa as well as the resistance of its residents. This includes the high profile attempted forced removal of the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Cape Town to temporary relocation areas in Delft, plus the attempted evictions of Abahlali baseMjondolo and evictions in the shack settlement, Chiawelo, where the film was actually shot. Blikkiesdorp, a temporary relocation area in Cape Town, has also been compared with the District 9camp earning a front page spread in The Daily Voice.

The film makes a statement about inhumanity in the irony of Wikus becoming more humane as he becomes less human. Throughout the movie, he becomes more aware of the aliens' plight, eventually helping them escape the planet, even turning on his own species to do so. Chris Mikesell from the Hawaii newspaper, Ka Leo, notes that inhumanity is a deep-rooted theme throughout. He writes: "Substitute 'black,' 'Asian,' 'Mexican,' 'illegal,' 'Jew,' or any number of different labels for the word 'prawn' in this film and you will hear the hidden truth behind the dialogue". Alien eggs are destroyed before hatching and described as popcorn. He described that District 9 shows the corruption of which humans are capable. MNU, the corporation in charge of protecting the aliens, is actually taking away captured aliens and using them as experiments in order to be able to use their weapons.

Themes of racism, xenophobia, humanity and social segregation are put forward by the movie in the form of speciesism applied to the aliens. The use of the word "prawn" to describe the aliens is a reference to the Parktown prawn, a king cricket species considered a pest in South Africa. Copley has said that the theme is not intended to be the main focus of the work, but rather that it can work at a subconscious level even if it is not noticed.
The result is an action film about xenophobia, in which all races of humans are united in their dislike and mistrust of an insect-like species.

An underlying theme in District 9 is state reliance on multinational corporations as a government funded enforcement arm. As MNU represents the type of corporation which partners with governments, the negative portrayal of MNU in the film can be seen as a statement about the dangers of outsourcing militaries and bureaucracies to private contractors.

You really get a sense for this film what the Apartheid era was like, Black and White people were separated in everything they did hotels, restaurants, toilets, cinemas etc and they weren't allowed to mix and the Blacks were treated like second class citizens which is terrible and I think this film serves as great reminder of how those times were.

Writer/director Neill Blomkamp's direction is absolutely fantastic, the cinematography is spellbinding (it's all shot in a mockumentary style, featuring, news footage, interviews which are all beautifully edited together), the special effects are creative and impressive considering the low budget of $30 million dollars, it's well paced, the violence is brutal, the score by someone who I've never heard of called Clinton Shorter is catchy and brilliant and captures the beauty of South Africa, the production design is tremendous and captures the dark living conditions of South Africa, the costumes are colourful, the make up is rich, the suspense and tension is gripping, the stunts are amazing, the action scenes are exciting, well choreographed and expertly staged the ending was superb.

The acting is superb, though the star actor has to be Sharlto Copley who really carries this film on his two shoulders, he's a man who is working for the humans who gets something one him and goes through a physical change and the way he changes and develops and begins seeing things from the aliens point of view is an incredible journey.
It is also facinating to watch the actors in the interviews talk and discuss the events in the film and you really get a sense this is an actual documentary.
Another actor who stands out is David James as Colonel Koobus Venter. He takes great pleasure in killing the aliens and responding brutally to anyone who opposes him which for me makes him represent the racist side of the story and James the role as if he really is enjoying himself.

District 9 is a throughly entertaining and original sci fi film and the film that has launched Neill Blomkamp to super stardom.

Please comment and subscribe, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.