District 9 (review): The prawn within
| October 8th, 2009[spoiler alert]
District 9 is a breakthrough film on many levels.
Many of the aspects that elevates it as a work of cinema have been tried before. The mockumentary style. The manga battles. The incredible screen effects.
But never before has it been blended in this style, on such a raw African backdrop.
It was so real it made me homesick.
Most chilling, was Sharlto Copley’s debut performance as flawed hero, Wikus van de Merwe. He managed to perfectly bring to life that thin veneer of good intentioned warmth and humanity that thinly veiled the sheer evil of racism and xenophobia.
When his alien-like extremeties pierced through his skin, the metaphorical arc appeared, to complete itself in the closing scene of the film – on the scrapheap, the animal, now with the best of humanity within.
District 9 is more than cinema. It is art that constantly defies definition.
It permanently impacts the way you think about life.
It represents the extremes of Africa. The cradle of man, where the best and worst of our condition lives side by side in a constant everyday battle.
It deserves repeated viewings. And many accolades. Not just for fine craftsmanship in film, but also for the best kind of storytelling. The stories that define our age and our species.
