This film is part of Rentals
Arrival
Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner star as the humans who make first contact with extra-terrestrial visitors in this richly textured sci-fi from director Denis Villeneuve.
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Overview
Canadian director Denis Villeneuveβs (Sicario, Prisoners, Incendies) versatile and prolific creative streak continues with Arrival, an emotionally arresting, visually inventive science fiction based on the award-winning Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang. Professor of linguistics Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is enlisted by the US government to decipher the language of extra-terrestrials who initiated first contact. She is accompanied by scientist Ian Donelly (Jeremy Renner) on a mission to determine the purpose of their mysterious visitation. As the military manoeuvres around the operation become increasingly fraught, the two outsiders are drawn together in their search for understanding in this tense and emotional sci-fi drama.
The story is underpinned by an extremely resonant interest in the importance of translation, not only the direct challenge of decoding this new language, but also in the forging of international cooperation between countries to prevent conflict. A universe away from traditional alien invasion films, Arrival is ultimately a cinematic paean to human life β its intimacy, complexity and grandeur, and to what keeps us connected to each other β communication, memory, and the experience of love and loss.
Related
The Rover The Rover
Crime 2014 103 mins Director: David MichΓ΄d
Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson star in a post-apocalyptic thriller set in the Australian outback, from the director of Animal Kingdom.
Midnight Special Midnight Special
Science Fiction 2015 112 mins Director: Jeff Nichols
Jeff Nichols, the acclaimed chronicler of American delirium, presents an imaginative sci-fi about an otherworldly child pursued by the FBI and a shadowy cult.
The Beast The Beast
Fantasy 2022 145 mins Director: Bertrand Bonello
LΓ©a Seydoux wanders through a maze of past, present and uncertain future in Bertrand Bonelloβs audacious blend of period drama and conceptual crystal-gazing.
Robot Dreams Robot Dreams
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 103 mins Director: Pablo Berger
Spanish director Pablo Berger delivers a rich and emotionally engaging dialogue-free animation about friendship, set in a bustling 1980s New York City.
Demon Seed Demon Seed
Science Fiction 1977 94 mins Director: Donald Cammell
Visionary Scottish filmmaker Donald Cammell directs this claustrophobic βhome-invasionβ sci-fi thriller based upon Dean Koontzβs best-selling novel.
2001: A Space Odyssey 2001: A Space Odyssey
Science Fiction 1968 149 mins Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick took science fiction cinema in a grandly intelligent new direction with this epic story of manβs quest for knowledge.
Captain Fantastic Captain Fantastic
Drama 2016 119 mins Director: Matt Ross
Viggo Mortensen plays the father-gone-primitive in this wonderful award-winning comedy about an off-grid family.
I, Daniel Blake I, Daniel Blake
Drama 2016 100 mins Director: Ken Loach
Ken Loachβs powerful, Palme dβOr-winning invective against welfare injustice captured the mood of modern Britain and became his biggest box office success.
The Girl on the Train The Girl on the Train
Thriller 2016 112 mins Director: Tate Taylor
Emily Blunt stars in the adaptation of the best-seller about a divorcee who entangles herself in the investigation of a missing young woman.
Toni Erdmann Toni Erdmann
Comedy 2016 162 mins Director: Maren Ade
A lonely prankster upends the life of his high-powered daughter in a riotous comedy, deep and sharp.
Manchester by the Sea Manchester by the Sea
Drama 2016 137 mins Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams shine in this devastating, Oscar-winning drama from Kenneth Lonergan about a manβs painful hometown return.
Daphne Daphne
Drama 2017 87 mins Director: Peter Mackie Burns
Emily Beecham stars in a powerful character study about a 31-year-old chef who's drifting through her London life, until she witnesses a shocking eventβ¦
Vice Vice
Biopic 2018 133 mins Director: Adam McKay
Christian Bale is the infamous Dick Cheney, in Adam βThe Big Shortβ McKayβs exuberant and acrid satire.
The Immigrant The Immigrant
Drama 2013 117 mins Director: James Gray
Marion Cotillard plays a Polish immigrant struggling to survive in 1920s New York, in this acclaimed drama from James Gray (We Own the Night).
Sicario Sicario
Crime 2015 121 mins Director: Denis Villeneuve
Emily Blunt plays the FBI agent enlisted for a special operation against Mexican cartels, in this pulsatingly tense thriller from Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Prisoners).
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthamiβs gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.