Arrival
This is going to be a nonlinear review of the movie because watching it brought up all sorts of questions old and new to the surface of my mind.
Will we ever know what the mystery of life truly is? I doubt it but to fully live we do not need to know it intellectually but to deeply feel and be present to the moment, to life as it is unfolding.
Of course we need to be aware of the bigger pictures but more importantly we need to be aware of ourselves: the old wisdom of “Know Thyself” comes to mind and in focus.
This nonlinear time business is complex and confusing at times. If we could see the “future” what would that really mean for us?
Is the future predetermined? Or does it simply mean that given a set of circumstances and possible random factors capable of inducing change, some choices, decisions or lack of would lead down certain paths, which when narrowed down through reality will generate a most likely outcome.
Hannah: was her sickness predetermined because of a genetic makeup? Was it because of her parent’s exposure to the aliens?
Any of these possibilities could have an influence on Hannah’s future incurable illness but I believe that the main message of the movie was the “liberating” realization that life itself is unstoppable and resisting it would only bring about more suffering and no resolution. And whatever life brings to a person’s life is meant for their personal development.
Louise embraced her fate or this part of her story’s life because this experience of having a daughter and spending a few years with her and learning from her is what made Louise’s development into a new human being possible.
I am not sure when her experience of the future and particularly with her daughter started. The brain processes all sensory stimuli as real whether the experience is real or just a vivid dream doesn’t make a difference and so Louise changed through this intense experience and the pain of loss made her the compassionate woman she became and the whole set of interactions with Hannah and the attempt to answer her questions opened Louise’s mind and heart for the new language and made receiving this gift from the Heptopods possible.
We are all one and yet every human being is ultimately touched by and through the interactions with his or her close ones. In other words we grow up, we develop, we learn through our relationships with others even when they are sometimes painful or frustrating but if we stay open to them and in them we learn and evolve. The Chinese general responded to the words he once heard from his deceased wife and averted the catastrophe of a destructive war…
The story itself is multilayered and pregnant with metaphors and symbols and also with political references and perhaps an agenda but I think that it just showed the ugly and sad facts about our present reality. A universal normal language would in my opinion not bring people together in the way we would like to because it is not just about understanding the foreign words, it is more than that.
Beside the words we use, there are countless hidden languages inside people’s minds and these are the belief systems people were conditioned to adopt, even to die for. I am not necessarily talking about the religious beliefs but about preconceived notions we tend to take as the truth because we were conditioned to do so. Add to that fear and the instinct of survival and we get the mess and war making, humanity has been experiencing since the dawn of time.
The dream of getting help from an outside source is ever present and painful but I’m afraid that the only help we will get can only come from the inside when we do the necessary inner work to change and evolve. But it is fair enough to believe that crisis can trigger change in people when they have no other solution left but to change or be destroyed.
The movie was powerful in its role as a messenger for change: when confronted with an alien threat and when all languages humans knew failed to give them an answer the world as they knew it stopped: the mind tends to look for answers in the huge memory bank from the past and only when there are no answers then it has the chance to open up for new possibilities and will be receptive to information / help from another realm beyond the usual linear (time bound) way of thinking.
Stopping the world is the first step into the journey of change and evolution so the failure to understand the alien language achieved that for Louise and very few people but it was enough to bring about a more global change through her (and them).
Violence breeds only violence until the whole world is destroyed but compassion and the desire to communicate beyond the “language barrier” laid the foundation for the bridge into a new world.
I think that the story “insisted” on naming the aliens Heptopods and not squids because once the mind labels something it believes it knows what it is: squid is something “familiar” but Heptopod is “similar” but not quite the same so the mind stays open to new information otherwise the usual shut down happens and a belief is formed but it is not the truth. This phenomenon is known under the name “premature closure” which actually hinders further learning. The nice touch was that the Heptopods used “ink” (like squids) to project their language on that window glass, those interrupted circles and scribbles that open up the mind and make it “all-seeing”. Another language will make the mind more flexible because a language isn’t just words but it is also a belief system and when one experiences different belief systems one sees clearly that none of them is the truth but simply a representation of reality, a model that can be useful but it is never the truth.
This alien language was so designed that it rewired the brain in a more dramatic fashion allowing the mind to see “time” from a transcending perspective and not in a linear (sequential) way anymore and that is real power, insight and evolution. It is freedom from the prison of set and frozen beliefs (which can and have lead people to violence and war).
I hope I am making sense because it is not easy to “explain” what I feel but isn’t this the challenge with all languages?
I thought that the rebirth of a new “world” became possible with the evolution of the human mind: new language, deeper insight and wisdom, more intelligent behavior and decision making, more compassion and the realization that all humans are one and the madness of holding onto beliefs (models) and going to war because of them can only lead to utter destruction of the human race ultimately. The solution is the transcendence of the old mind through a new, more open one for every individual. The Heptopods’ gift is a tool to achieve that but only if the humans are willing to do their part and go to work: learn the language and embrace a new way of life, embrace life itself because “living” though rigid belief systems isn’t really living but rather being at the mercy of a cruel master (the “unenlightened” mind).
And it all started with a man and a woman like Adam and Eve giving birth to a child called Hannah and even before her birth Hannah changed Louise and made her ready to receive the GIFT.
Louise and her husband have been chosen by the Heptopods to carry the gift’s power into the world. Louise and her husband are a powerful metaphor for a creation mythology and for the two brain hemispheres and for the marriage between the mind and the heart (soul) for a hands-on experience of life and evolution into a more intelligent but also a truly compassionate human being.
So Louise and Ian are the parents of the new world so to say even though indirectly. It has to start somewhere with loving parents for it to work. And the glue for all this raw power, life’s and language puzzles is true love and self-sacrifice as practiced by the Heptopds themselves. In order for the new to be born, the old must be transcended through death.
I also think that the alien language by itself did not accomplish that miracle alone. Louise opened herself to the Heptopods and they somehow rewired her brain (tuned the receiving instrument) so that she could be changed through her experience with her not yet born daughter and that love made her capable of becoming the mother of change, she became the teacher of the world: Eve saved the world with the help of Adam but I see it as a homage to the Goddess in every woman…
Yet, I am still not sure about Hannah’s future death because the future hasn’t happened yet it could change? Why not?
I wished the movie would have let Louise tell me why Portuguese was different from the other Romance languages. She mentioned that in that time and place language was an expression of art if I remember well.
A second watching is definitely in order.
Maybe new aspects will be revealed after a second watching
What did you enjoy in the film? What aspects have interested you the most?
One of the things I enjoyed most about the film was its gentle pace in which the most dramatic and life changing events take place in subdued undertones, allowing the characters to emerge in subtle and understated ways, through expression and carefully shot scenes.
I almost felt like I was looking at a sepia photo for much of the film- taking me into a different time – which I suppose was the point.
I love the shape of the aliens’ spaceship which reminded me of a smoothed pebble from the seashore, standing proud of a quiet background – none of the usual shapes of UFOs. A pebble that has been smoothed by forces into something beautiful.
The ideas of the importance of language and its development I found fascinating, and like Mz Dee would love to have heard more of that.
The sense of wonder.
What did you make of Louise’s choice?
Did she even have a choice?
If so, what was the actual choice?
I interpreted the film as suggesting she did have a choice from the line where she tells her daughter that Ian thought she had made the wrong choice. There are different ways you could view that choice:
1. Louise accepting her “view” of the future and the illness her daughter would have and embracing/rejecting it (and possibly trying to change it).
2. Sharing what she knew with her husband.
If it was the second then it would suggest that Ian would not have gone ahead in making their daughter if he had known the future. If it was the first then he thought neither of them should have embraced the creation of their child.
For him it seemed that the acceptance was in some way making them complicit in letting go of control; of almost being “OK” with what would happen; of total acceptance that you can’t change it.
I think Louise probably thought she wouldn’t tell him because it might mar the way he thought about the future with his chid, but that suggests she didn’t feel he would view things in the same way she did; she didn’t trust it was the best thing to do.
Should she have told him? I think so; it’s tempting not to spoil any joyous moment that could be ruined by such a stark prediction, but if she was trying to protect him than why reveal to him that she knew later? Keep the secret forever.
I wonder if choosing the “journey” of a child’s short life with such acceptance is only possible when you feel certain of the prediction happening – when you have no choice. Is it choice that makes it so hard?
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Many parents are put in a place of rejection or acceptance when they find out their child has something wrong in pregnancy. That “fault” is already there. In the past there would not have been a choice, but now things are different. If they could see a wonderful but imperfect child, would it change/make their decision? Or would the uncertainty of its impact be too great?
If Louise knew there was no way to change the future, then what was left but acceptance? If you have no choice you cannot blame yourself for the path you take – whatever happens is fate.
As Ms Dee has already expressed so well, Louise could have grown bitter and resentful but she relishes the beautiful child she had and embraces her time with her. However, I felt that her grief and pain on losing her was all encompassing and I found those scenes with her as a baby and an ill teenager very hard to watch. The moment when she climbs into bed with her dead daughter almost unbearable.
Mz Dee I love what you have said about the value of the journey. I agree it is what really matters. There are, however, times when we expect the journey to last a certain time: we do not expect our children to come to the end of their journeys before ourselves. Sometimes we just don’t want or expect the journey to end. Destinations can be frightening.
We know nothing is forever, but discovering that... that is something else.
DF you always floor me with the bounty of your thoughts. I also wanted to hear more about the difference of Portuguese to the other romantic languages. I think some research is called for.
I am still pondering much of what has been said by both of you. Thank you for giving me so much to think about.
I saw this film a few years ago and before I read the above completely will want to watch it again. I know I enjoyed it and it was thought-provoking with quite an ending if I recall.
Thank you DF and Moonchime for your reflections on the film! The movie has certainly opened a lot of fascinating avenues for discussion. I swear I’ve been thinking more about this film after second watch than the first time.
If Louise knew there was no way to change the future, then what was left but acceptance? If you have no choice you cannot blame yourself for the path you take – whatever happens is fate.
I’ve been mulling this over and over.
I have come to the conclusion that this is not about fate at all. It is extremely difficult to comprehend here what the actual choice was. But after a lot of thought I think Louise made the decision in the present time to have a baby, because she already knew that she had made this decision, as she has seen future echos of her daughter. In a way it was like connecting dots. Oh, ok, so this is where I’ve made the decision.
And the decision was that having this child was going to be the most precious thing in her life, and she would pay any price for that. She knew they would have a few very happy years together as a family. She knew that eventually the secret would be too hard for her to keep. Hannah was probably starting to show first symptoms. She knew that the truth would bring the end of her relationship with Ian.
(This is the most disappointing part for me, and also wondering if Ian had ever fully come to understand the universal language. Wouldn’t he then have understood Louise and the whole scenario better?)
So Louise made a selfish decision in some ways, to experience being a mum to Hannah, and crushing not just herself but also Ian with Hannah’s illness and untimely death. But the decision can also be viewed as a very compassionate decision, to protect Ian for as long as she could from pain, but gift him with a wonderful daughter and some happy years he’d not have had otherwise. We know that neither Louise nor Ian had any luck in finding a partner before they met each other. It’s ever so complex.
Ultimately, Louise’s choice is Hannah over Ian, motherhood over her love for a man, and trading soul shattering grief for the moments of the deepest happiness. It’s also her choice to not include Ian in the initial choice, which suggests either a selfish trait or a kind of arrogance that she knows what’s best for Ian.
I wonder if choosing the “journey” of a child’s short life with such acceptance is only possible when you feel certain of the prediction happening – when you have no choice. Is it choice that makes it so hard?
I think so. Choice makes everything harder. If you have no choice, you just need to rise to the challenge and deal with the situation the best you can.
Many parents are put in a place of rejection or acceptance when they find out their child has something wrong in pregnancy. That “fault” is already there. In the past there would not have been a choice, but now things are different. If they could see a wonderful but imperfect child, would it change/make their decision? Or would the uncertainty of its impact be too great?
Some of the hardest questions in the world, and so many variables that could make a huge difference in our answers. It’s also question that hits too close to home. All I can say is that I’m grateful beyond words for not having to make such decision.
I feel medical advances are sometimes not necessarily a good thing.
I’ve been mulling this over and over.
I have come to the conclusion that this is not about fate at all. It is extremely difficult to comprehend here what the actual choice was. But after a lot of thought I think Louise made the decision in the present time to have a baby, because she already knew that she had made this decision, as she has seen future echos of her daughter. In a way it was like connecting dots. Oh, ok, so this is where I’ve made the decision.
And the decision was that having this child was going to be the most precious thing in her life, and she would pay any price for that. She knew they would have a few very happy years together as a family. She knew that eventually the secret would be too hard for her to keep. Hannah was probably starting to show first symptoms. She knew that the truth would bring the end of her relationship with Ian.
(This is the most disappointing part for me, and also wondering if Ian had ever fully come to understand the universal language. Wouldn’t he then have understood Louise and the whole scenario better?)
So Louise made a selfish decision in some ways, to experience being a mum to Hannah, and crushing not just herself but also Ian with Hannah’s illness and untimely death. But the decision can also be viewed as a very compassionate decision, to protect Ian for as long as she could from pain, but gift him with a wonderful daughter and some happy years he’d not have had otherwise. We know that neither Louise nor Ian had any luck in finding a partner before they met each other. It’s ever so complex.
Ultimately, Louise’s choice is Hannah over Ian, motherhood over her love for a man, and trading soul shattering grief for the moments of the deepest happiness. It’s also her choice to not include Ian in the initial choice, which suggests either a selfish trait or a kind of arrogance that she knows what’s best for Ian.
Absolutely - if Louise had a choice then I think all that is true - although I still struggle with when the choice was made and I wonder whether trying to give her that choice in the film makes any real conclusion possible. It seems to me that it is a catch twenty two - there is no real logical way to come a conclusion on the choice. If as you say she knew she had already made this decision then how could she change it or am I not understanding the three dimensional nature of time and the universal language? Time is not chronological but still events have a place in line from which you can dip in and out, always in the past, the present and the future. simultaneously. The question is can you interfere with those things? Yes the ending does suggest that Louise could do so.
The thing that I feel is missing in all of the analysis of Louise's choice is how Hannah might actually feel about that choice. Yes Louise saw how precious the gift of motherhood could be but how much do we know about the slow pain and degree of Hannah's death. What would Hannah have said about the decision? It's not just a decision for Louise and Ian but a decision for Hannah. I don't think we're supposed to think like that though because that would make the whole thing too unbearable and we have to believe that a beautiful life lived for a short time is better than no life at all. And yet...
Could you perhaps just keep picking out the good times and how do you pass back and forth? Presumably you have to go through it all at some point or other?
I read some article in Den of Geek which referred one to a you tube video by Neil Degrasse Tyson where he explains the ending of Interstellar which has a similar time thing going on to Arrival apparently. I found it interesting if not hugely helpful.
I'm a bit wee late to the game but did watch this again before I left town. Catching up on work and then will read the above and dive in with you lovelies!
I'm a little (or maybe a lot) overwhelmed by the erudite nature and depth of the responses to this thread by you brilliant Sirens. I'm not sure I have much to offer to the discussion, but here I go . . .
I was quite entranced by the film, though I found it quite exhausting emotionally and could scarcely move or string together a coherent sentence as the final curtain fell. I found the cinematography beautiful and, whilst the plot was complex and intense, I sensed a strange simplicity to the whole movie.
I loved the notion of exploration into and an understanding of the heptapods' language. So clever and intriguing. And the brilliance of the linguist's and scientist's minds were mesmerising. It has led me to reflect deeply upon the concepts of language and time though I'm not sure I can unravel my thoughts via human words!
As for the question regarding whether Louise had any choice . . . Surely, if this was a glimpse into her future, she had no choice. Her cards were dealt, right down to keeping the secret from her partner of their daughter's grim illness and subsequent death. So, I feel she had just to accept what she saw as her future, whether she would've chosen to have changed any aspect of it or not.
This is probably a far too simplistic view; I'd like to delve more but time is against me at present so I will return in the future . . . or maybe I won't, depending on what the future has already written for me!
Surely, if this was a glimpse into her future, she had no choice. Her cards were dealt, right down to keeping the secret from her partner of their daughter's grim illness and subsequent death. So, I feel she had just to accept what she saw as her future, whether she would've chosen to have changed any aspect of it or not.
Mz Iris, good to read your thoughts. I think she had a choice, it was just happening in a topsy turvy way. She made the decision after she’d already seen visions of what that decision would lead to. But from the visions of the future she already knew that she had made the decision, so it was easier for her to go through with it. The beauty of the moment was for me that she made the decision with a smile and no fear. I found her embracing of life with all its incredible highs and lows very uplifting and truly life affirming.
If as you say she knew she had already made this decision then how could she change it?
I think she cannot change it, neither does she want to change it, and I think that’s what I live most about the film and its message. That she fully embraces life as it unfolds.
Time is not chronological but still events have a place in line from which you can dip in and out, always in the past, the present and the future, simultaneously. The question is can you interfere with those things? Yes the ending does suggest that Louise could do so.
Could you elaborate on why you think the ending suggested that Louise could change things? Because of her call to the Chinese general?
I almost wish that didn’t happen in the film, because it’s certainly added this extra complication = mindfuck to the whole story. When the two of them met at the reception, Louise couldn’t remember what she did, and how she did it, until the Chinese guy told her… it actually makes my head hurt to process this, and I’m failing.
We experience time chronologically, without access to such “universal language”, yet some people solidly live in the past, and most of us have had glimpses of the future, made successful predictions, had dreams, visions, deja vu experiences. Sometimes it’s very difficult to separate past, present and future even in our every day existence. Yet we’ve all studied history and we think we have some understanding of the past, certainly a lot more known of the past than of the future that is based on predictions, hopes and fears, rather than facts.
The thing that I feel is missing in all of the analysis of Louise's choice is how Hannah might actually feel about that choice. Yes Louise saw how precious the gift of motherhood could be but how much do we know about the slow pain and degree of Hannah's death. What would Hannah have said about the decision? It's not just a decision for Louise and Ian but a decision for Hannah.
This is a very good point, and something I’ve thought about a lot, even before this film. Of course, in this context, when we know this child would have to face suffering and an untimely death, we could wonder if given the chance, would Hannah have chosen to BE or rather NOT TO BE?
I’ve often wondered about my own children. Whether they will ever get to resent us, their parents, for bringing them into this world. Especially, when we see our world becoming more and more difficult to live in, and the future looks rather bleak. Whether they will still count their blessings for being given the gift of life or would they ever consider that a burden and a curse? I know this sounds very dark, and I really hope that their future won’t be as bad as I sometimes fear, but it’s certainly a thought I can’t get out of my mind.
When it comes to the question of grandchildren…I’m really torn. Part of me would love to have them. But perhaps a bigger part of me is terrified of what future that generation might have.
And perhaps there is, in fact, a very simple answer to these thoughts and fears: the gift of life and experience of love is worth any trials and tribulations that it entails.
