August 2017 media review part three

ARRIVAL (2016) D- Denis Villeneuve.
A number of alien spacecraft position themselves over various locations across the world. But unlike in Independence Day or War of the Worlds, these guys aren't out to subjugate the Earth, but to learn about our world and its inhabitants. The problem is, how to communicate in an alien language? Enter Amy Adams, a philologist with a flair for lateral thinking, who is recruited to attempt to start a dialogue with them. But others, including, predictably, the military, are suspicious and would be just as happy to blow them to oblivion.
          There has been a slew of movies on this subject, Including Contact and 2001: A Space Odyssey, but this film does find a new angle to explore. Amy Adams is excellent as the linguistics guru, and is well supported by Jeremy Renner. Definitely watchable.

INNOCENCE OF MEMORIES (2016) D- Grant Gee.
A few years ago Turkish Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk wrote a strange, surreal love story set in Istanbul called "Innocence of Memories" and later created a museum called "The Museum of Memories" which housed many artefacts mentioned in its pages. Grant Gee's fascinating movie wanders the streets of Istanbul, re-tracing the steps of the protagonists in the book and also examining the museum exhibits themselves, creating in the process a unique take on a famous book.
         Grant Gee has form. In his film "Patience" he dissects out W.G. Sebald's seminal text The Rings of Saturn, in which the author describes a number of hikes around Norfolk and Suffolk, allowing his mind to wander over a number of apparently unconnected themes. Both films have a curious, languorous quality which is really rather hypnotic. Which book will he tackle next? Intriguing.

DETROIT (2017) D- Kathryn Bigelow.
In 1967 Detroit, racial tensions boil over into destructive and lethal rioting. The Detroit police, known for their institutional racism and brutality, put down the blacks in the traditional manner: with billy-clubs, waters cannon and live rounds from rifles and shotguns. And when they think sniper-fire is coming from a down-market apartment house, they roil in and threaten the tenants with death unless they reveal the name of the shooter. They know there was a shooter, but he was only using a starting pistol to scare the cops. No matter. What follows is a harrowing account of apparently true events, as the residents are subjected to the most appalling violence.
             Kathryn Bigelow is one of the most skilful directors in America, and here she shows with horrifying realism the extent of racial hatred that was endemic in the police at that time. Perhaps most horrifying of all is the fact that as recent events have shown, in some ways not a lot seems to have changed in 50 years...