Many of you have been asking for Arrival for awhile (it's a favorite of mine as well), so here it is! Hope you enjoy! What movies should I do in future videos? Let me know!
Giving Louise the choice to have her daughter even though she knew the outcome is probably the most brilliant source material change I've ever heard of. That scene broke me down in a way that nothing else could due to that simple alteration, because I've been there, and I'd do the same thing.
In a deterministic world there are still those who believe in free will and act like it. They were able to have it both ways in this adaptation through subjective perspective.
One of the best small moments of the movie is when they just arrived and doing their medical checks.The medical officer asks typical questions then ends with "Pregnant?". And then there's a beat before Louise says "No".In the audience's perspective,we perceived it as if she was a little surprised at the question due to the trauma of losing her daughter.In reality, it was just her taking a moment ,processing the question, before giving a simple no.
Shalom & Boker tov...she had not 'lost' her daughter, because she had not yet given birth. The 'key' to the film is nonlinear 'time' (which does not exist), or, if you prefer, a series of interlinked 'Nows'. What she is experiencing are not 'flashbacks', but glimpses of unfolding Nows.
What i like the most about that is that the shot holds on the medical officer as long as he is still asking all the questions, but after "Pregnant?" we see one of the few cuts in this scene, right on Louise's face
"Pure and thoughtful science fiction is never about aliens, other worlds, or exciting visions of the future. At its core, science fiction lasts on humanity, our dreams and fears, principles and behaviors." Is that yours? I want to use it and need to quote it
I have a BA in history and spent a lot of time on citations so the answer, as the others have said, is yes. Just make sure to include the video’s title, the name of the channel, and the URL.
"You see, the war, the true war, has never been one waged by droids, warships, or soldiers. They are but crude matter, obstacles against which we test ourselves. The true war is waged in the hearts of all living things, against our own natures, light or dark. That is what shapes and binds this galaxy, not these creations of man. You are the battleground. And if you fall, the death of the Republic will be such a quiet thing, a whisper, that shall herald the darkness to come." This one is NOT mine , but maybe you can use it by merging or be inspired by it, to create something else. When I heard the one from this video, it made me think about this one. Hope you like it as much as I like them both.
To think that they took a short story, made some changes, and created an amazing film, whereas some producers take best selling books, make almost no changes and yet manage to create a bad film. I bet you can name a few!
What really helps is that the source material was phenomenal. If a short story is well-told and strong, the film can be strong! If a novel is long, but weak in every way... well, there would probably be no film, I guess.
You bet they did. I have downloaded Ted Chaing’s short story: Story of Your Life and read it. Way different from the movie but both, the book and movie, are still good.
"They are afraid of the aliens because they know what humanity is capable of." Well said. That was my thought exactly. I didn't expect much from this film, or rather I expected the usual, but it ended up being such a pleasant surprise. I also didn't see the twist coming at all, and I am so happy about that because it rarely happens these days.
I think there's something really important to remember. Louise isn't choosing to have Hannah, she's choosing to get Hannah back. Now that Louise's mind is non-linear and she's already experienced Hannah's life and death imagine how much more powerful it is to have that baby after seeing her die. Imagine having lost a loved one and being told that you can have them back. Wouldn't you jump at that chance? Yes you're going to lose them again, but you're going to get to have all that time all over again. What person wouldn't want more time with a lost loved one?
But thinking of hannah, her name also compliments the story. BTW, watching a loved one die again and again is painful though and seeing them suffer with dying again and again 😐😕
Yea but if she’s experiencing time non-linearly there is no “getting her back” because Hannah is always alive and always dead it only depends on what part of her life Louise wants to experience. Non linear time means there is no beginning or end you can move along your lifespan just as easily as you can walk from point a to b
Another cool detail from Eric Heisserer: In an interview, he was asked since the alien ships came from so far away, why did they not just land on the ground? Why are they hovering? And I think he says that this was Denis' idea - that the aliens were extending an olive branch, but humanity had to 'meet them halfway' as it were and make the effort of traversing that final gap to enter the ship.
This film has one of the greatest "oh crap" reveals in years because it lets the audience learn along with the protagonist, and so when the protagonist finally makes the "oh crap" discovery, it feels like we, the audience, have the same emotional weight invested into it as the protagonist, as though the twist is happening to us. I wasn't completely sold on the film as I was watching it until, "oh crap" and I began thinking and reliving what I had witnessed, the movie actively projecting me into the film as though I was the protagonist. So basically what I'm saying is this is one of those few films that makes the audience think about their experience, and I think the screenplay is what deserves the most praise in this regard. Ok I'll shut up now. I just really like this movie.
The directing and screenplay is sublime. What really brings this movie home for me is the depth of the music that fits the scenery like a glove. Unfortunately we won`t hear more from this incredible composer. Rest In Peace Johann
I've had a very sad recent breakup and trusting love again was hard due to my fear of breaking up again with someone else. After watching this movie it just clicked in for me that we can already see the future, and the future is that everyone goes away eventually, one way or another, so if I was to stop engaging with people that may go away, I would end up alone. Accepting loss before the beginning.
I think like this too but the downside is if you're accepting loss before the beginning then you go into a relationship with a very negative mindset. I think it's important to try and live in the moment which this film also teaches in Louise's decision to have Hannah. I read something recently saying we're all just a mosaic of the people we've met before, and that helps with appreciating every relationship you have had or are going to have. It all shapes who you are today
Damn. This one just blew me a way, Michael. I loved Arrival the first time I saw it, but when you said the hectopods showed no aggression and all of the conflict comes from the humans. Wow. Just wow. I never really thought about it before. Just shows how much you can learn from a film like this. Awesome video, mate. Always great to see your deeper analysis on awesome films.
I find it sad, that it needs a video to explain a movie, while the filmmakers put so much effort in it, that the movie should be self explaining by itself. I appreciate the behind the scenes footage and I think the movie wasn't too hard to understand.
@@johannesalbrecht4705 It's called discussion. It's like you missed the point of the movie entirely. Also, a lot of people who saw the movie will not have read the short story; this video is aimed at them as well.
(SPOILER!) I wonder if the two heptapods knew that one of them (Costello?) was going to die due to the explosion, but still chose to come to Earth, sacrificing himself. it's very sad...
I think the reason why costello was so easy to forgive the death of his friend or comrade (sorry forgot his name) is because they have a different perspective of life and death. Because they live in nonlinear time they do not think death of some kind of end point like we do. That's why costello says "death procces" it's like he's saying that he's recharging or something like that. For them there is no end nor is there a beginning. So therefore there is no reason to be sad. But this is just my opinion.
Grizabeebles their word for language isn’t weapon, it’s tool. Our word for tool implies it can be used as a weapon. So it references the bias toward violence and conflict. At least that is how I interpret it.
For anyone who has learned a language, they'll recall what a process of discovery it was. Not only did you learn more about how your language worked but you realized that it was a tool that enabled you to interpret the world in ways different from that of another language. That language is just not words but a conveyor of layers of meaning connected to place, people, education, status, etc. This is why I really loved Arrival and why I think it frustrated many who just wanted a good extraterrestrial science fiction film. Apart from that, it says a lot about the power of editing.
When I learned French I learned one can convey politeness merely by using vous instead of tu, so you can say "ecoutez" which means "listen" more formally as opposed to the casual "ecoutes". If you merely say "listen" in English it comes across as rude.
It was "a good extraterrestrial science fiction film"! But yeah. I'm a supporter of "soft" Sapir-Whorf , but not "hard" S-W. Having learned (well, learning) Spanish, there's a few weird concepts that wouldn't have occurred to me as meaningful in English, like the idea that you address someone who is literally the second person, but use third person tense to show politeness. It's mad! I don't think language completely controls your thoughts or can (a la 1984) completely reprogram you, though.
@@AgentOccam In a weird way, it reminds me of eye-contact in autism or cultures that avoid eye-contact as respect. Part of me doesn't like eye contact, but other parts of me just feel it's very differential and trusting to not look someone in the eye when speaking to them. It's like I am out of their way; I'm not directly in their path, but obliquely in their space. Languages that use third person to convey respect are kind of like that; you don't refer to them directly, but obliquely. It softens the tone by removing the accusatory elements and takes you out of their space by making the subjects tertiary. Just a thought.
After learning French and watching the arrival was like giving me such more answers because my sister after learning German she told me she became more rational and her way of thinking is more complex and me after learning French I became more sensitive and more articulate at the time to share my thoughts about things and share my feelings as well because it's not the same saying "I'm sad" in English and saying "Je me sens triste"
Having recently seen "Arrival", not knowing anything prior to watching it, I was absolutely blown by how the story was beautifully told, certainly in the way it explores the themes of motherhood, loss, sadness, purpose of living, and what it means to be "Human". Without question, one of the most breathtaking, amazing films I've seen in sometime. :D
"Louise would just stop her from rock climbing" Thats what happened in the story. She is overly cautious about Hannah getting hurt (because she traumatized of what's gonna eventually happen) that it causes Hannah to rebel and go rock climbing. She literally cannot stop from being over cautious because of what she knows is gonna happen. The same way you can't just get over a trauma.
I think the autor explained it as enacting chronology, i find it really interesting, like your life being a play that you dont even question or find worth in questioning your role in this play.
Yeah the only thing Michael misinterpreted here I think is that it is already written and predetermined, she can remember the future therefore the future has happened. She can't change it yet michael suggests she could.
YES finally you did Arrival! One of my favorite screenplays ever tbh. This movie floored me when I first saw it. To me it's a perfect film. I think it might be in my top 50 of all time. Love it!
Joe Chin It was released in a time where most of the country was divided. I remember this was the first movie I saw after the election and it was powerful because it spoke about the importance of working together and communicating
@@deich31 the Americans interpreted the aliens message as "offer weapon", the Chinese linguists had a different translation of "use weapon". This created tensions between each of the 12 countries that the aliens landed on, believing the aliens are trying to get the countries to wage war against each other.
This is the one film I've felt was made just for me. I did my undergraduate thesis on linguistics and biological preparedness that infants have for acquiring language... I've loved science fiction since middle school... and nothing means more to me than family and the philosophy behind what it means to live well. This movie hit me on every personal point it possibly could have. Not a single change was needed for my experience to be perfect. My friends and I watched it and when the lights came up I was bawling and they were looking at me cockeyed but it just resonated so effectively with me in such an unexplainable way. Every scene, every word, every expression felt like it was being pulled my own mind as it was being relayed upon the screen. It was perfection in cinematography and I love how successful it was and whenever I have the opportunity to see little videos like this that give me further context for my love.
i saw this movie in the theater, and before halfway through i knew it was a great movie. and after the ending im absolutely swept off my feet. it's now one of my favorite movies. thanks for making this video i've always liked your content you made my day champ
Easily best movie of 2016-2017. So sad how the Academy refuses to acknowledge sci-fi drama. So sad. Denis is easily the best director in the world right now. I am beyond ready for what he brings us with the new Bladerunner
I still wonder what was so great about it? :D The only point is that she can see future based on an obsolete linguistic theory. Not much for a feature film.
Arrival is such a fantastic movie and this video has made it even better. Thanks for your hard work that makes me love my favorite movies that much more!
This movie blew my mind off, from the beginning i was like,, hmm meh just another alien movie, and then as it progresses, as she said "who is that child" am i like, what the f** has just happened, all the negative reviews this film has got are from the people who failed to understand that moment of enlightenment...
The part that most stuck with me in the short story was Chiang's explanation of free will and knowing the future. In the story, he describes them as two rooms: you can have free will or you can know the future but you can't have both just as you can't be in two rooms at once. I found the metaphor effective and powerful, and it also solved the problem of Louise not changing the future when she knows what will happen. I still enjoyed the movie, but found the short story better. Also the book it's in is excellent, too!
Woooow... great analysis. Changing the story of Hannah demise from rock climbing to an incurable disease changes the script a lot in terms of moral decisions, raising conflict and tension.
I disagree, it fundamentally undercuts the philosophical theme of the story - that there is no free will, by presenting a situation where she can make a choice on wether or not to have her daughter. Based on everything that is presented in the movie, she will ALWAYS have her daughter, because if she didn't then she wouldn't see a future where she has a daughter. The fact that the daughter dies from a supposedly avoidable rock climbing accident is meant to drive home the fact that with her non-linear perception, she knows that her daughter will always die this way and there is nothing she can do to prevent it. Once this is established, the theme of the story is more about how people interpret and deal with the unavoidable events of their life. By implying she has a choice that theme is cheapened to one of problem solving with some magical superpower.
+Neuty McNeutface You are exactly correct. That change takes a good story and turns it into a nonsense movie. Literally nothing about the movie makes sense. It's just one big set of impossible paradoxes by implying Louise has free will. It's kind of upsetting that so many people think this change was good.
There's a part in Ted Chiang's story that explains this situation. It's not exactly that the future is inevitable and she has no choice over it, it's more that even though she knows the future and all the tragedies that will take place she still chooses to act in a way that will fulfill that future. I wish I had the story to quote it, but she isn't just getting carried away by fate or destiny, she's consciously making choices that will make the future she sees come true because she's a "keeper" of history, of all that was, is and will be. So it's probably a middle point between your comment and what Eric Heisserer wrote (Or at least that's how I remember it).
I think people (including Chiang maybe) try to make a middle ground so that they don't imply a full determinism, but it's basically just a way to soften the fact that doesn't have any real meaning. They're trying to have their cake and eat it too. The fact is that a paradox arises if you take any interpretation that isn't full determinism. Think of it this way. Suppose it were possible for her to make any other choice. What would she be "seeing" as the future? If she chose to not have the child, there would be no future memories for her to see about the child and hence she wouldn't know it dies. Maybe then she would have the child which would bring back the future memories making her choose not to have it and on and on. There isn't really a middle point. If you allow any level of free will, it introduces loop paradoxes. What does it mean to choose a future that has to happen? That's the definition of not having any choice.
I found it interesting how Eric Heisserer also wrote a screenplay for the horrible Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) remake and yet he brought us this masterpiece. It just shows how a talent can be wasted by hollywood and the studios
Im sure this one is because Denis Villaneuve.. remember SICARIO? He just cut all Del Toro lines.. i think dis things also happend in ARRIVAL. He knows how and what to do with his character.. All of His (Denis V) movie is always talking bout characterizing. from know nothing to relize something..
+Riot Breaker i once read that Frank Darabont wanted to make a movie based on Fahrenheit 451. The studio boss is supposed to have said: " This is the best screenplay i've ever read, but how are we supposed to make forteen year old boys go watch this?" Which made me really mad, because i read that when i was forteen
Was underwhelmed by Arrival the first time I saw it and was surprised by the glowing critical reception it received but I can honestly say that your video has opened my mind to some of the themes and concepts that I struggled to connect with on first viewing and as a result I will definitely be giving Arrival another watch!
I couldn't help but shed a couple of tears listening to you. One day I will learn to write, and I truly hope I will have a teacher with your touch... And your sensibility.
You completely distilled the differences between the book and film and also managed to simply state the reasons why this film works on so many levels as a metaphor to examine the basic instincts of humanity. Brilliantly done.
As a huge fan of the short story, the removal of determinism in the film was a disappointment, but the idea that life remains worthwhile even when you know what’s going to happen is very deep and complex. And the film, which I very much like, does sort of touch on that when she chooses to have her child. We make a similar, if much smaller, choice every time we listen to a song we know or watch a movie we’ve seen!
I think in adapting for film, we needed to learn of nonlinear time along with Louise, and making it an incurable disease prevents the viewer from being distracted from being too judgy of her. A piece of literature allows the reader to be inside her head more, but the viewer of the film is in a more judgy position. IMO it would have distracted from the larger philosophical questions Chiang raises.
Interpreting the film as removing the deterministic aspect is just one way of seeing the movie. Another one is that although she is choosing to be a mother and to love Hannah, she cannot stop doing that and choosing otherwise: she is a caring person, and that's what takes her in a path towards the events that will end up ocurring in the future.
You could still interpret it as being deterministic, ultimately whether it was because of her own free will or if it was already predetermined the result is the same, it makes no difference and so you can just choose to interpret it however you wish.
Since I saw this movie, I sincerely come back to it every year. I watch it over, absorb the analysis videos, and I just love it more. 😂 it’s such a goddamn gift to sci-fi nerds that love intelligent, romantic and transcendent cinema. I love the pacing. I love that it’s dramatic in its presentation. It’s just a damn chef’s kiss movie. Even the cringey part of the alien showing up in her dreams 😂 The only other movie I can equate it to is the experience I got when first watching interstellar.
Both "Manchester by the sea" and "Jackie" deal with the subject of mourning. I think it's a subject we don't often see in movies, and yet, both movies dealt with it very organically and truthfully.
@moonatomic7 I am in flight school, I mean film school now, and it is 6 years later, so you were correct. I am taking this as a fun personal challenge to try to outdo the 'smart' factor, as all wannabe screenwriters like me should endeavor to do. This might be the smartest screenplay of all time, and I would love to know other people's choices if they disagree!
I am completely blown away by the level of analysis and depth to this video, love it wholeheartedly. Adore the editing and the way you told it especially, thanks! Keep it up
when I first saw Arrival I thought the heptapod dream sequence was a reference to the directors previous movie, Enemy, where the film ends with Jake Gyllenhaal seeing a giant spider in a room.
This is such an insightful analysis of what happened to The Arrival's screenplay. Kudos for the work you do here. I found myself tearing up a bit when you explained that part at the end about how in the end it IS about human behavior. This gave me a newfound fondness for the film. And I already love the film in the first place (which is why I'm here anyway). GREAT JOB, LFTS!
I hadn't watched arrival until recently so I've been holding back on watching this video for soooo long. totally worth it tho. the twist in the story is such a huge pivot. I was in complete shock from that
As a first-year linguistis student in Brazil, I thank you for another great video about movies. This one is special to me, of course, mainly because it puts communication at its center.
Please could you do a video on Netflix's Master of None? I think it is a really interesting setup and would be great to see how the screenplays influence what is perceived on screen!
Arrival was my favorite movie from this year, though there were several good ones. It's unique and brilliantly done, an absolute masterpiece. I think in a decade or so, it will be remembered as one of the best sci-fi movies ever.
You abstract your own thesis from a movie that abstracts its own thesis from a short story whose own thesis is hidden between the lines. You do this beautifully and concisely.
I have a problem with the screenplay of "Arrival", and the problem is the less presence of Ian (Jeremy Renner). He is the physicist, and in the short story writed by Ted Chiang, he had a vital importance explaining the concept of time and space, that has a direct connection with the interpretation of the alien language that achieve Louise (Amy Adams). All these concepts are missing in the movie, and Ian is only a mere supporter of Amy that doesn't aport anything to the story. Saying this, "Arrival" is a VERY good movie. Thanks for the video.
as a language student, I didn't notice he didn't explain it, but I immediately understood the concept by connecting it with Chomsky's theory of language being linear, as he affirms that all human languages are constructed linearly by taking time and space into consideration
That was the overarching thing I got from Arrival as well about the breakdown of communication between humans. I think it's also a very apt movie for a current times since we seem to fail to communicate with each other properly.
Princess mononoke, spirited away ! Please do a hayao Miyazaki film..He's one of the greatest animation director. All young animators look up to him. It'd be a big help. Great video as always, loved it. Thanks for these amazing lessons !
Lessons from the Screenplay where have you been since the '90s? you have much to catch up on, Miyazaki's work is some of the best in the industry! also, Howl's moving castle, another book to movie adaptation! :)
I like to say that this isn´t a romantic movie, this is a love movie. When you realize the visions are from de future... I can't describe it with words, and the ending, the ending is so beautiful, so powerful. I cry every time I watch it. Thanks for the great video.
this is my favorite movie ever and i just watched it again and realized a few things. Humans write in a line with one hand (left to right or right to left) and we see time as such- in a linear manner. Heptapods "write" in a circular manner and are able to perceive time in a non linear fashion. also when Louise was explaining to her daughter why she named her Hannah, Heptapods write in a way that is like writing with both hands meeting in the center, much like Hannah's name (it reads the same from either side). i'll forever love the concept of the Heptapods coming to earth and seeking help, KNOWING that it will be Louise to learn their language and based on their non-linear sense of time, they already know English. and how Louise's "weapon" (gift) is her ability to learn languages. ugh i love this movie
It's basically copying off of other classic sci-fi movies, copying classics never results in a classic... It literally has the twists from both Contact and Interstellar. The big twists from two other big classic sci-fi movies, in the same movie, but far less earned. I feel it will be forgotten within years TBH..
I'd be interested to see where you think Arrival and Interstellar are similar. One does far better than the other as a film I believe, and I don't think we agree on which one.
This video was so good, I loved the way you tackled discussing the final film, the editing process, and the adaptation from book to script. Thanks for all of your hard work, I love your videos. :)
Ok, this was cool: my Creative Writing lecturer played this video cause these two pieces were the readings for this week, and he used the video to explain the adaptation and how it applies to crossing ontological borders. I was the only one who knew what this was and highly pleased to see this again! So cool to see it used academically :) He also showed the trailer of Adaptation, which is funny cause I was just thinking of your video when he played it. Circular.... like Heptapod B o.0
I'm currently writing a stage play adaptation of Victor Hugo's "The Man Who Laughs", a project I've been working on for a long time and which has already seen many drafts, and this was a nice reminder that it's okay for adapters to play around with the methods of storytelling in order to stay true to the source material while conveying it in another medium of storytelling. I know that's ultimately what adaptation is, but I've seen some from-book-to-movie adaptations which suffer either because they change nothing or everything.
11:47 "They're afraid of the aliens because they're aware of what humanity is capable of." what a powerful, insightful line. "The heptapods make no acts of aggression whatsoever. All the conflict comes from us."
I love everything about your videos! I love how you analyze movies, the way you speak and I love how you can see the depth in scenes and explain ,in a very compelling/spellbinding way, how and why a scene or movie is the way it is and gives a feeling or emotion that it does. It is dangerous to watch your videos because they don't feel like, in this case, almost 15 minutes long. I felt like I just watched a 5 min video (in a good way) because I was just so captivated by your storytelling and they way your videos are edited that I lose track of time.
Quick Question: how does the story in Arrival comment on the human condition ‐ how we react to threats and retain our humanity ‐ that is inherent in science fiction genre?
My favourite part of the whole movie was finding out that the aliens are here to teach us because in 6000 years they'll need our help with some unexplained problem....Genius.
I think my favorite part about that is everyone just assumes it's a war because that's what we're good at. In my personal head canon the heptapods are nearly infinite in their lifespans and that's why they need us. The helptapods don't experience all of time, they experience all of THEIR time and they know they'll live to see the problem because they live it. Meanwhile we can't live that long so we'll always be carrying the collective human experience in a linear fashion even if we experience our own lives in nonlinear way thanks to them. That naturally makes humans better equipped and better prepared to teach more aggressive and more linearly thinking species than we were pre-Arrival. Maybe the threat is some warmongering species that has no real sense of personal long term memory. To them a personal long term memory they lived is no different than a page of a history book and that's just way too out of the heptapods' wheelhouse to even begin to understand let deal with.
@@hazonkuThat’s not my assumption, though. 😉 My head canon is that they are going to face some sort of ecological or cosmological catastrophe that will make their home world unlivable. When that happens humans will be just as advanced as the heptapods and will assist in their evacuation.
I fell in love with Star Trek TNG because of its abstract discussion of complex philosophical issues. Lately, with more and more Abrams films (lots of explosions and special effects but very little if any, philosophical debate) I've been becoming more and more despondent at the state of Sci-Fi. But this film totally renewed my love for the genre. I can't stop recommending it! I'm commenting on this before I'll watch it, because I just wanted to say that I love your videos every time and I'm stoked to see you cover this. Very happy UA-cam consumer here :-P
I would love to see you tackle screenplays of foreign language film that adheres less strictly to the traditional Hollywood story structure. Something like Park Chan-Wook or the adaptation of Haruki Murakamis novel Norwegian Wood. Or the expansion from short film to feature film - like Paddy Considines Dog Altogether that became Tyrannosaur. A look at adapting real world events could also be really interesting getting your take on.
WOW, just... WOW. Such a genius video, so crisp, so clear, it might even be your best video yet. You have just made it into my favourite channel's list sir. This video is as beautiful, simple and... perfect as Arrival is.
Thank you! Ever since I've read the short story I've been itching to talk about how it was adapted but I had no one to talk to. This is a wonderful analysis. And thanks for a new podcast! Do you listen to The Writers Panel as well? There was a great episode about The Knick, I hope you'll do a video on that series one day.
I’d love to see your take on the evolution of the Alien series, particularly the evolution of the ones realised by Ridley Scott, both in realisation and screenplay, in order to see what made the first Alien such an amazing movie, and how Ridley Scott failed to both recreate and innovate the formula.
Lessons from the Screenplay Jokes apart, :P I also suggest you make an Interstellar video. That's one of my favorite films of all time and I want to know what you think of it. I love your channel, you're awesome!
Michael, this is great! My only note: we want these more often. Too much time passes between your videos. I know it's asking a lot, but we'd love you to increase the frequency. Keep up the good work!
If it was at all possible to do it faster, trust me I would! This is my full time focus. But doing them right simply takes a lot of time. Rest assured I'm not going slowly on purpose :)
The best science fiction film in a long time. It was wonderfully refreshing and beautifully crafted in every regard. p.s. The Heptapod dream sequence scared the life out of me, because I was so invested in the Amy Adam's performance and the storytelling. Great stuff. xx
Many of you have been asking for Arrival for awhile (it's a favorite of mine as well), so here it is! Hope you enjoy! What movies should I do in future videos? Let me know!
Lessons from the Screenplay Lion
The Great Escape or The Italian Job
Lessons from the Screenplay Pulp Fiction and Inception...
matixsdf Yes^^^
Yeah, Inception would be great
Giving Louise the choice to have her daughter even though she knew the outcome is probably the most brilliant source material change I've ever heard of. That scene broke me down in a way that nothing else could due to that simple alteration, because I've been there, and I'd do the same thing.
In a deterministic world there are still those who believe in free will and act like it. They were able to have it both ways in this adaptation through subjective perspective.
One of the best small moments of the movie is when they just arrived and doing their medical checks.The medical officer asks typical questions then ends with "Pregnant?". And then there's a beat before Louise says "No".In the audience's perspective,we perceived it as if she was a little surprised at the question due to the trauma of losing her daughter.In reality, it was just her taking a moment ,processing the question, before giving a simple no.
Shalom & Boker tov...she had not 'lost' her daughter, because she had not yet given birth. The 'key' to the film is nonlinear 'time' (which does not exist), or, if you prefer, a series of interlinked 'Nows'. What she is experiencing are not 'flashbacks', but glimpses of unfolding Nows.
Kudos to Amy Adams for looking so traumatized in tthis scene!
+Stephan
At the moment this occurs, both Louise and we the audience don't know that, though.
What i like the most about that is that the shot holds on the medical officer as long as he is still asking all the questions, but after "Pregnant?" we see one of the few cuts in this scene, right on Louise's face
+Avensis Astari No, at this point in the movie Louise hadn't learned Heptapot yet so she didn't even knew of her daughters existence.
For anyone who just doesn’t speak mandarin, the “final words” of his dying wife, was “there are no winners in war, only widows”
Mandarin speaker here... really didn't understand what she said until now...
Thank you very much!
chills
as a mandarin speaker, i must say that her accent was very questionable and difficult to understand.
I am a Mandarin speaker. And I am on the boat as everyone else who don’t speak Mandarin. Enough said 😛. So thank you!
"Pure and thoughtful science fiction is never about aliens, other worlds, or exciting visions of the future. At its core, science fiction lasts on humanity, our dreams and fears, principles and behaviors."
Is that yours?
I want to use it and need to quote it
Yep! Go for it.
@@LessonsfromtheScreenplay Can you give a citation for this? I mean, with your name and all?
Pretty sure you can cite this video with the url and time stamp, and it'll be considered properly sourced.
I have a BA in history and spent a lot of time on citations so the answer, as the others have said, is yes. Just make sure to include the video’s title, the name of the channel, and the URL.
"You see, the war, the true war, has never been one waged by droids, warships, or soldiers. They are but crude matter, obstacles against which we test ourselves. The true war is waged in the hearts of all living things, against our own natures, light or dark. That is what shapes and binds this galaxy, not these creations of man. You are the battleground. And if you fall, the death of the Republic will be such a quiet thing, a whisper, that shall herald the darkness to come."
This one is NOT mine , but maybe you can use it by merging or be inspired by it, to create something else. When I heard the one from this video, it made me think about this one. Hope you like it as much as I like them both.
To think that they took a short story, made some changes, and created an amazing film, whereas some producers take best selling books, make almost no changes and yet manage to create a bad film. I bet you can name a few!
Before watching this, I felt the same about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
I feel like short stories are just better to adapt a movie. The movie is able to add stuff instead of being forced to cut things for time
@@mikeb7906 Like comic-relief scenes where Tom Cruise crashes into some kind of contortionist yoga class for the yuks? ;)
What really helps is that the source material was phenomenal. If a short story is well-told and strong, the film can be strong! If a novel is long, but weak in every way... well, there would probably be no film, I guess.
You bet they did. I have downloaded Ted Chaing’s short story: Story of Your Life and read it. Way different from the movie but both, the book and movie, are still good.
"They are afraid of the aliens because they know what humanity is capable of."
Well said. That was my thought exactly.
I didn't expect much from this film, or rather I expected the usual, but it ended up being such a pleasant surprise. I also didn't see the twist coming at all, and I am so happy about that because it rarely happens these days.
I think there's something really important to remember. Louise isn't choosing to have Hannah, she's choosing to get Hannah back. Now that Louise's mind is non-linear and she's already experienced Hannah's life and death imagine how much more powerful it is to have that baby after seeing her die. Imagine having lost a loved one and being told that you can have them back. Wouldn't you jump at that chance? Yes you're going to lose them again, but you're going to get to have all that time all over again. What person wouldn't want more time with a lost loved one?
But thinking of hannah, her name also compliments the story. BTW, watching a loved one die again and again is painful though and seeing them suffer with dying again and again 😐😕
This explains her saying "Come back to me." Wow.
Yea but if she’s experiencing time non-linearly there is no “getting her back” because Hannah is always alive and always dead it only depends on what part of her life Louise wants to experience. Non linear time means there is no beginning or end you can move along your lifespan just as easily as you can walk from point a to b
@@abhishirsathreminds me of tenet
It would make sense because in the scene where she’s hugging Ian after the aliens took off she tells him “I forgot how nice it was to be held by you”
Another cool detail from Eric Heisserer: In an interview, he was asked since the alien ships came from so far away, why did they not just land on the ground? Why are they hovering? And I think he says that this was Denis' idea - that the aliens were extending an olive branch, but humanity had to 'meet them halfway' as it were and make the effort of traversing that final gap to enter the ship.
This film has one of the greatest "oh crap" reveals in years because it lets the audience learn along with the protagonist, and so when the protagonist finally makes the "oh crap" discovery, it feels like we, the audience, have the same emotional weight invested into it as the protagonist, as though the twist is happening to us. I wasn't completely sold on the film as I was watching it until, "oh crap" and I began thinking and reliving what I had witnessed, the movie actively projecting me into the film as though I was the protagonist. So basically what I'm saying is this is one of those few films that makes the audience think about their experience, and I think the screenplay is what deserves the most praise in this regard.
Ok I'll shut up now. I just really like this movie.
Agreed!
Oh crap, that's great
The directing and screenplay is sublime. What really brings this movie home for me is the depth of the music that fits the scenery like a glove. Unfortunately we won`t hear more from this incredible composer. Rest In Peace Johann
Sjukt tragiskt :(
But I thought Max Richter was the composer for Arrival's score...?
Ah wait, he did the song "On the Nature of Daylight", part of the score, not the rest lol
I've had a very sad recent breakup and trusting love again was hard due to my fear of breaking up again with someone else. After watching this movie it just clicked in for me that we can already see the future, and the future is that everyone goes away eventually, one way or another, so if I was to stop engaging with people that may go away, I would end up alone. Accepting loss before the beginning.
This deserves way more upvotes.
I think like this too but the downside is if you're accepting loss before the beginning then you go into a relationship with a very negative mindset. I think it's important to try and live in the moment which this film also teaches in Louise's decision to have Hannah. I read something recently saying we're all just a mosaic of the people we've met before, and that helps with appreciating every relationship you have had or are going to have. It all shapes who you are today
I couldn't agree more
"The play's the thing."
thank you for that tought, sir
Damn. This one just blew me a way, Michael. I loved Arrival the first time I saw it, but when you said the hectopods showed no aggression and all of the conflict comes from the humans. Wow. Just wow. I never really thought about it before. Just shows how much you can learn from a film like this. Awesome video, mate. Always great to see your deeper analysis on awesome films.
:D Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!
I find it sad, that it needs a video to explain a movie, while the filmmakers put so much effort in it, that the movie should be self explaining by itself. I appreciate the behind the scenes footage and I think the movie wasn't too hard to understand.
@@johannesalbrecht4705 It's called discussion. It's like you missed the point of the movie entirely. Also, a lot of people who saw the movie will not have read the short story; this video is aimed at them as well.
the part in wich he completely twist the question about why do we think leanearly, that's truly blooooowin
That was one of the most basic premises the movie made😂 lmao it's not that hard to get it
(SPOILER!)
I wonder if the two heptapods knew that one of them (Costello?) was going to die due to the explosion, but still chose to come to Earth, sacrificing himself.
it's very sad...
I can't be the only one who was reminded of Sapphire in Steven Universe by that idea?
Abbott is death process
I think the reason why costello was so easy to forgive the death of his friend or comrade (sorry forgot his name) is because they have a different perspective of life and death. Because they live in nonlinear time they do not think death of some kind of end point like we do. That's why costello says "death procces" it's like he's saying that he's recharging or something like that. For them there is no end nor is there a beginning. So therefore there is no reason to be sad. But this is just my opinion.
Grizabeebles their word for language isn’t weapon, it’s tool. Our word for tool implies it can be used as a weapon. So it references the bias toward violence and conflict. At least that is how I interpret it.
He did, that's why he saved them both before the explosion.
For anyone who has learned a language, they'll recall what a process of discovery it was. Not only did you learn more about how your language worked but you realized that it was a tool that enabled you to interpret the world in ways different from that of another language. That language is just not words but a conveyor of layers of meaning connected to place, people, education, status, etc. This is why I really loved Arrival and why I think it frustrated many who just wanted a good extraterrestrial science fiction film.
Apart from that, it says a lot about the power of editing.
When I learned French I learned one can convey politeness merely by using vous instead of tu, so you can say "ecoutez" which means "listen" more formally as opposed to the casual "ecoutes". If you merely say "listen" in English it comes across as rude.
It was "a good extraterrestrial science fiction film"!
But yeah. I'm a supporter of "soft" Sapir-Whorf , but not "hard" S-W. Having learned (well, learning) Spanish, there's a few weird concepts that wouldn't have occurred to me as meaningful in English, like the idea that you address someone who is literally the second person, but use third person tense to show politeness. It's mad!
I don't think language completely controls your thoughts or can (a la 1984) completely reprogram you, though.
@@AgentOccam In a weird way, it reminds me of eye-contact in autism or cultures that avoid eye-contact as respect. Part of me doesn't like eye contact, but other parts of me just feel it's very differential and trusting to not look someone in the eye when speaking to them. It's like I am out of their way; I'm not directly in their path, but obliquely in their space. Languages that use third person to convey respect are kind of like that; you don't refer to them directly, but obliquely. It softens the tone by removing the accusatory elements and takes you out of their space by making the subjects tertiary.
Just a thought.
Looks like the "golden child prodigy" became the
Looser and Joke of the nation.........................
After learning French and watching the arrival was like giving me such more answers because my sister after learning German she told me she became more rational and her way of thinking is more complex and me after learning French I became more sensitive and more articulate at the time to share my thoughts about things and share my feelings as well because it's not the same saying "I'm sad" in English and saying "Je me sens triste"
Having recently seen "Arrival", not knowing anything prior to watching it, I was absolutely blown by how the story was beautifully told, certainly in the way it explores the themes of motherhood, loss, sadness, purpose of living, and what it means to be "Human". Without question, one of the most breathtaking, amazing films I've seen in sometime. :D
"Louise would just stop her from rock climbing"
Thats what happened in the story. She is overly cautious about Hannah getting hurt (because she traumatized of what's gonna eventually happen) that it causes Hannah to rebel and go rock climbing.
She literally cannot stop from being over cautious because of what she knows is gonna happen. The same way you can't just get over a trauma.
Same with the bowl she purchases despite knowing it will break. She likens it to a reflex
the self-fulfilling prophecy...man that's powerful
I think the autor explained it as enacting chronology, i find it really interesting, like your life being a play that you dont even question or find worth in questioning your role in this play.
The story writer thinks the world is deterministic but the screenplay writer thinks our choices affect our future. This is why they made this change.
Yeah the only thing Michael misinterpreted here I think is that it is already written and predetermined, she can remember the future therefore the future has happened. She can't change it yet michael suggests she could.
YES finally you did Arrival! One of my favorite screenplays ever tbh. This movie floored me when I first saw it. To me it's a perfect film. I think it might be in my top 50 of all time. Love it!
It was a pretty incredible experience seeing it in the movie theater. The timing of its release, too, made the impact that much stronger.
Can anyone explain why the timing of its release had an added effect?
What do you mean about the timing?
Joe Chin It was released in a time where most of the country was divided. I remember this was the first movie I saw after the election and it was powerful because it spoke about the importance of working together and communicating
Jesus, your on every damn film related channel on UA-cam.
Their Saphir-Wolfe exectution was mind-blowingly superb! One of the most breathtaking scenes in the film!
Which part? When the two of them discuss it?
@@deich31 the Americans interpreted the aliens message as "offer weapon", the Chinese linguists had a different translation of "use weapon". This created tensions between each of the 12 countries that the aliens landed on, believing the aliens are trying to get the countries to wage war against each other.
This is the one film I've felt was made just for me. I did my undergraduate thesis on linguistics and biological preparedness that infants have for acquiring language... I've loved science fiction since middle school... and nothing means more to me than family and the philosophy behind what it means to live well. This movie hit me on every personal point it possibly could have. Not a single change was needed for my experience to be perfect. My friends and I watched it and when the lights came up I was bawling and they were looking at me cockeyed but it just resonated so effectively with me in such an unexplainable way. Every scene, every word, every expression felt like it was being pulled my own mind as it was being relayed upon the screen. It was perfection in cinematography and I love how successful it was and whenever I have the opportunity to see little videos like this that give me further context for my love.
"When we study an other in an open objective way, we are simultaneously studying ourselves" that was deep.
R u from 60s them you would see film skepticism
i saw this movie in the theater, and before halfway through i knew it was a great movie. and after the ending im absolutely swept off my feet. it's now one of my favorite movies. thanks for making this video i've always liked your content you made my day champ
:D
Easily best movie of 2016-2017. So sad how the Academy refuses to acknowledge sci-fi drama. So sad.
Denis is easily the best director in the world right now. I am beyond ready for what he brings us with the new Bladerunner
Don't forget how they refused to knowledge thrillers especially Nocturnal Animals.
Dominic Decoco To be fair at least they chose Her for Best Original Screenplay
Yes, I agree. I am a big fan of Predestination.
I still wonder what was so great about it? :D The only point is that she can see future based on an obsolete linguistic theory. Not much for a feature film.
ok so you didn't think the plot was good, but damn cinematography, sound and editing is amazing.
This video is way more important than my final
lol. You know, I'm not 100% sure that's true...
Pretty sure he is now on videos about model trains, and soon will move on to the fysiology of beavers. Finals will do that to you.
Leroy Jasper lol I wrote a 12 page essay on this film for my final xD I analyzed completely different aspects of Arrival but I did it nonetheless!
One of the best movies I've ever seen. Still gives me chills and things to think about to this day.
Can you do Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?
Definitely want to do this one!
How about cloud atlas?
That comment about how the fear of conflict is based on past human behavior was very insightful.
Sci-fi at it's best!
Louise: "There's no evidence of that."
Halpern: "Sure there is. Just grab a history book." Such a great line.
Arrival is such a fantastic movie and this video has made it even better. Thanks for your hard work that makes me love my favorite movies that much more!
:D
This movie blew my mind off, from the beginning i was like,, hmm meh just another alien movie, and then as it progresses, as she said "who is that child" am i like, what the f** has just happened, all the negative reviews this film has got are from the people who failed to understand that moment of enlightenment...
"I can't have them spend a year in a room skyping [...]"
*yeah, um, about that-*
Lol
The part that most stuck with me in the short story was Chiang's explanation of free will and knowing the future. In the story, he describes them as two rooms: you can have free will or you can know the future but you can't have both just as you can't be in two rooms at once. I found the metaphor effective and powerful, and it also solved the problem of Louise not changing the future when she knows what will happen. I still enjoyed the movie, but found the short story better. Also the book it's in is excellent, too!
Woooow... great analysis. Changing the story of Hannah demise from rock climbing to an incurable disease changes the script a lot in terms of moral decisions, raising conflict and tension.
Thanks Joe! I agree, a brilliant call on Eric Heisserer's part.
I disagree, it fundamentally undercuts the philosophical theme of the story - that there is no free will, by presenting a situation where she can make a choice on wether or not to have her daughter.
Based on everything that is presented in the movie, she will ALWAYS have her daughter, because if she didn't then she wouldn't see a future where she has a daughter.
The fact that the daughter dies from a supposedly avoidable rock climbing accident is meant to drive home the fact that with her non-linear perception, she knows that her daughter will always die this way and there is nothing she can do to prevent it.
Once this is established, the theme of the story is more about how people interpret and deal with the unavoidable events of their life.
By implying she has a choice that theme is cheapened to one of problem solving with some magical superpower.
+Neuty McNeutface You are exactly correct. That change takes a good story and turns it into a nonsense movie. Literally nothing about the movie makes sense. It's just one big set of impossible paradoxes by implying Louise has free will. It's kind of upsetting that so many people think this change was good.
There's a part in Ted Chiang's story that explains this situation. It's not exactly that the future is inevitable and she has no choice over it, it's more that even though she knows the future and all the tragedies that will take place she still chooses to act in a way that will fulfill that future. I wish I had the story to quote it, but she isn't just getting carried away by fate or destiny, she's consciously making choices that will make the future she sees come true because she's a "keeper" of history, of all that was, is and will be. So it's probably a middle point between your comment and what Eric Heisserer wrote (Or at least that's how I remember it).
I think people (including Chiang maybe) try to make a middle ground so that they don't imply a full determinism, but it's basically just a way to soften the fact that doesn't have any real meaning. They're trying to have their cake and eat it too.
The fact is that a paradox arises if you take any interpretation that isn't full determinism. Think of it this way. Suppose it were possible for her to make any other choice. What would she be "seeing" as the future? If she chose to not have the child, there would be no future memories for her to see about the child and hence she wouldn't know it dies. Maybe then she would have the child which would bring back the future memories making her choose not to have it and on and on.
There isn't really a middle point. If you allow any level of free will, it introduces loop paradoxes. What does it mean to choose a future that has to happen? That's the definition of not having any choice.
I found it interesting how Eric Heisserer also wrote a screenplay for the horrible Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) remake and yet he brought us this masterpiece. It just shows how a talent can be wasted by hollywood and the studios
Ugh that remake had so much potential...
"You can write the best screenplay ever and you still may not get greenlit" Hollywood is it's own worst enemy.
Im sure this one is because Denis Villaneuve.. remember SICARIO? He just cut all Del Toro lines.. i think dis things also happend in ARRIVAL. He knows how and what to do with his character..
All of His (Denis V) movie is always talking bout characterizing. from know nothing to relize something..
+Riot Breaker i once read that Frank Darabont wanted to make a movie based on Fahrenheit 451. The studio boss is supposed to have said: " This is the best screenplay i've ever read, but how are we supposed to make forteen year old boys go watch this?" Which made me really mad, because i read that when i was forteen
Was underwhelmed by Arrival the first time I saw it and was surprised by the glowing critical reception it received but I can honestly say that your video has opened my mind to some of the themes and concepts that I struggled to connect with on first viewing and as a result I will definitely be giving Arrival another watch!
Awesome, maybe you'll find it more meaningful a second time around!
I couldn't help but shed a couple of tears listening to you. One day I will learn to write, and I truly hope I will have a teacher with your touch... And your sensibility.
You completely distilled the differences between the book and film and also managed to simply state the reasons why this film works on so many levels as a metaphor to examine the basic instincts of humanity.
Brilliantly done.
Very insightful and makes me appreciate Arrival more. I learned a lot. Thank you for this!
My pleasure!
I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for this video. Thanks for this, Michael.
It’s shocking how spectacular of a film Arrival is. Wonderful analysis ✨
As a huge fan of the short story, the removal of determinism in the film was a disappointment, but the idea that life remains worthwhile even when you know what’s going to happen is very deep and complex. And the film, which I very much like, does sort of touch on that when she chooses to have her child. We make a similar, if much smaller, choice every time we listen to a song we know or watch a movie we’ve seen!
It's a video and it looks like it. The story redevelopment is interesting though.
I think in adapting for film, we needed to learn of nonlinear time along with Louise, and making it an incurable disease prevents the viewer from being distracted from being too judgy of her. A piece of literature allows the reader to be inside her head more, but the viewer of the film is in a more judgy position. IMO it would have distracted from the larger philosophical questions Chiang raises.
Interpreting the film as removing the deterministic aspect is just one way of seeing the movie.
Another one is that although she is choosing to be a mother and to love Hannah, she cannot stop doing that and choosing otherwise: she is a caring person, and that's what takes her in a path towards the events that will end up ocurring in the future.
You could still interpret it as being deterministic, ultimately whether it was because of her own free will or if it was already predetermined the result is the same, it makes no difference and so you can just choose to interpret it however you wish.
Since I saw this movie, I sincerely come back to it every year. I watch it over, absorb the analysis videos, and I just love it more. 😂 it’s such a goddamn gift to sci-fi nerds that love intelligent, romantic and transcendent cinema. I love the pacing. I love that it’s dramatic in its presentation. It’s just a damn chef’s kiss movie. Even the cringey part of the alien showing up in her dreams 😂 The only other movie I can equate it to is the experience I got when first watching interstellar.
Thanks...I was starving for your video.
Hope it sufficed :P
Can you do one on Moonlight?
Pulp fictions be dope too dude! Great video as usual btw!
Thanks! Pulp Fiction is definitely in the queue.
Lessons from the Screenplay yasss I can't wait!
i dont understand why arrival didnt win the oscar for editing
Yeah...I haven't seen Hacksaw Ridge, but. Arrival's editing was very good.
Not to mention that Amy Adams was robbed of a Best Actress nomination.
Jamakaya1 Nocturnal Animals, also. Both are much better films than La La Land, and Amy Adams' performances in both films outshine Emma Stone 10 fold.
Samuel Sélos Also Best Original Score
This made me love 'Arrival' even more. Thanks, Michael for another great film analysis.
When the Heptapod appeared in Louise's room it scared the shit out of me
Both "Manchester by the sea" and "Jackie" deal with the subject of mourning. I think it's a subject we don't often see in movies, and yet, both movies dealt with it very organically and truthfully.
This was one of the smartest screenplays I've seen in the last 5 years and I won't be surprised if it takes another 5 years for someone to top it.
@moonatomic7 I am in flight school, I mean film school now, and it is 6 years later, so you were correct.
I am taking this as a fun personal challenge to try to outdo the 'smart' factor, as all wannabe screenwriters like me should endeavor to do.
This might be the smartest screenplay of all time, and I would love to know other people's choices if they disagree!
I am completely blown away by the level of analysis and depth to this video, love it wholeheartedly. Adore the editing and the way you told it especially, thanks! Keep it up
You have just helped me SIGNIFICANTLY in my Literature class!
when I first saw Arrival I thought the heptapod dream sequence was a reference to the directors previous movie, Enemy, where the film ends with Jake Gyllenhaal seeing a giant spider in a room.
Could be both!
This is such an insightful analysis of what happened to The Arrival's screenplay. Kudos for the work you do here. I found myself tearing up a bit when you explained that part at the end about how in the end it IS about human behavior. This gave me a newfound fondness for the film. And I already love the film in the first place (which is why I'm here anyway). GREAT JOB, LFTS!
Great video essay as always! Looking forward to your future videos (I already know they're gonna be great because heptapod language).
Well that's a relief! I don't have to worry about it anymore!
Just watched Arrival. I was riveted, and shaken with the reveal of the “memories” as visions of the future. Awesome movie.
I hadn't watched arrival until recently so I've been holding back on watching this video for soooo long. totally worth it tho. the twist in the story is such a huge pivot. I was in complete shock from that
As a first-year linguistis student in Brazil, I thank you for another great video about movies. This one is special to me, of course, mainly because it puts communication at its center.
Please could you do a video on Netflix's Master of None? I think it is a really interesting setup and would be great to see how the screenplays influence what is perceived on screen!
Ooo, that could be interesting. I haven't watched the new season yet.
+1 to Master of None, I think it's really well written!
Lessons from the Screenplay Once you've watched the second season I'm sure you'll feel compelled to study it!
thomaspsimpson I second this :D
Please please pleaseeeeeee
It's always a treat when you upload a new video. Thanks Michael.
My pleasure!
Arrival was my favorite movie from this year, though there were several good ones. It's unique and brilliantly done, an absolute masterpiece. I think in a decade or so, it will be remembered as one of the best sci-fi movies ever.
I discover your channel at 12am it is now 7:30 I am addicted to say the least
You abstract your own thesis from a movie that abstracts its own thesis from a short story whose own thesis is hidden between the lines. You do this beautifully and concisely.
I have a problem with the screenplay of "Arrival", and the problem is the less presence of Ian (Jeremy Renner). He is the physicist, and in the short story writed by Ted Chiang, he had a vital importance explaining the concept of time and space, that has a direct connection with the interpretation of the alien language that achieve Louise (Amy Adams). All these concepts are missing in the movie, and Ian is only a mere supporter of Amy that doesn't aport anything to the story.
Saying this, "Arrival" is a VERY good movie.
Thanks for the video.
Sci fi writers always give huge roles to scientists! For example, the Three Body Problem trilogy does that in a excellent way.
as a language student, I didn't notice he didn't explain it, but I immediately understood the concept by connecting it with Chomsky's theory of language being linear, as he affirms that all human languages are constructed linearly by taking time and space into consideration
Do No Country for Old Men please! great vid btw
Thank you! That's a good suggestion.
Such a great video. Thank you so much!
Manuel Uribe thats the most pretentious movie of pretentious and overrated
The Arrival... such a beautiful film!
"the arrival'' is another movie, this is just "arrival''
:]
Wow, what a great examination. I absolutely adore Arrival, and the changes that they made to the final film were incredible.
That was the overarching thing I got from Arrival as well about the breakdown of communication between humans. I think it's also a very apt movie for a current times since we seem to fail to communicate with each other properly.
Princess mononoke, spirited away ! Please do a hayao Miyazaki film..He's one of the greatest animation director. All young animators look up to him. It'd be a big help. Great video as always, loved it. Thanks for these amazing lessons !
I need to see his work, I hear only great things!
Oh. My. God. You simply MUST watch Spirited Away. It's considered one of the best films of all time on almost every single list! GO GO GO!
Hey Michael, let me know if you are planning on doing miyazaki. I might have something for you.
Lessons from the Screenplay where have you been since the '90s? you have much to catch up on, Miyazaki's work is some of the best in the industry! also, Howl's moving castle, another book to movie adaptation! :)
Oh, hey Wasif! Ok, will do!
Anybody ever notice how the intro has the script being written on the corners?
I love this channel
I did! I noticed!
Lessons from the Screenplay AHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHA
The heptapod replacing the Colonel reminded me exactly of the final scene of "enemy". Did anyone else get that.
I didn't put that together until I saw someone comment that earlier!
I like to say that this isn´t a romantic movie, this is a love movie. When you realize the visions are from de future... I can't describe it with words, and the ending, the ending is so beautiful, so powerful. I cry every time I watch it.
Thanks for the great video.
this is my favorite movie ever and i just watched it again and realized a few things. Humans write in a line with one hand (left to right or right to left) and we see time as such- in a linear manner. Heptapods "write" in a circular manner and are able to perceive time in a non linear fashion. also when Louise was explaining to her daughter why she named her Hannah, Heptapods write in a way that is like writing with both hands meeting in the center, much like Hannah's name (it reads the same from either side).
i'll forever love the concept of the Heptapods coming to earth and seeking help, KNOWING that it will be Louise to learn their language and based on their non-linear sense of time, they already know English. and how Louise's "weapon" (gift) is her ability to learn languages. ugh i love this movie
Now i really want to see this movie.
You should ;)
That's one more thing on the long list of movies I should watch... do you think that arrival will become a classic in the near future?? Just curious.
I think it definitely could. Hard to predict, but I think so.
It's basically copying off of other classic sci-fi movies, copying classics never results in a classic... It literally has the twists from both Contact and Interstellar. The big twists from two other big classic sci-fi movies, in the same movie, but far less earned. I feel it will be forgotten within years TBH..
I'd be interested to see where you think Arrival and Interstellar are similar. One does far better than the other as a film I believe, and I don't think we agree on which one.
This video was so good, I loved the way you tackled discussing the final film, the editing process, and the adaptation from book to script. Thanks for all of your hard work, I love your videos. :)
Ok, this was cool: my Creative Writing lecturer played this video cause these two pieces were the readings for this week, and he used the video to explain the adaptation and how it applies to crossing ontological borders.
I was the only one who knew what this was and highly pleased to see this again! So cool to see it used academically :)
He also showed the trailer of Adaptation, which is funny cause I was just thinking of your video when he played it. Circular.... like Heptapod B o.0
I'm currently writing a stage play adaptation of Victor Hugo's "The Man Who Laughs", a project I've been working on for a long time and which has already seen many drafts, and this was a nice reminder that it's okay for adapters to play around with the methods of storytelling in order to stay true to the source material while conveying it in another medium of storytelling. I know that's ultimately what adaptation is, but I've seen some from-book-to-movie adaptations which suffer either because they change nothing or everything.
Wow! The dream sequence was my favorite scene from this movie. And it was created in editing!!
You and Nerdwriter make a baby. The kid makes the best movie ever lol
lol.
Bat of GOTHAM please do a collab
I mean nerdwriter and lessons from the screenplay
haha, i said to myself, "why the fuck would anyone wanna collab with me?"
well
Bat of GOTHAM sorry. But if we ever both do something big we can collab together
Please do V for Vendetta next, the philosophy in this movie has brought it to be one of my favorite movies of all time.
11:47 "They're afraid of the aliens because they're aware of what humanity is capable of." what a powerful, insightful line. "The heptapods make no acts of aggression whatsoever. All the conflict comes from us."
This movie slowly but surely crawled its way into my top 10 list of movies. It gets better every time I watch it and it's amazingly well done.
I love everything about your videos! I love how you analyze movies, the way you speak and I love how you can see the depth in scenes and explain ,in a very compelling/spellbinding way, how and why a scene or movie is the way it is and gives a feeling or emotion that it does. It is dangerous to watch your videos because they don't feel like, in this case, almost 15 minutes long. I felt like I just watched a 5 min video (in a good way) because I was just so captivated by your storytelling and they way your videos are edited that I lose track of time.
Quick Question: how does the story in Arrival comment on the human condition ‐ how we react to threats and retain our humanity ‐ that is inherent in science fiction genre?
My favourite part of the whole movie was finding out that the aliens are here to teach us because in 6000 years they'll need our help with some unexplained problem....Genius.
I think my favorite part about that is everyone just assumes it's a war because that's what we're good at. In my personal head canon the heptapods are nearly infinite in their lifespans and that's why they need us. The helptapods don't experience all of time, they experience all of THEIR time and they know they'll live to see the problem because they live it. Meanwhile we can't live that long so we'll always be carrying the collective human experience in a linear fashion even if we experience our own lives in nonlinear way thanks to them. That naturally makes humans better equipped and better prepared to teach more aggressive and more linearly thinking species than we were pre-Arrival. Maybe the threat is some warmongering species that has no real sense of personal long term memory. To them a personal long term memory they lived is no different than a page of a history book and that's just way too out of the heptapods' wheelhouse to even begin to understand let deal with.
@@hazonkuThat’s not my assumption, though. 😉 My head canon is that they are going to face some sort of ecological or cosmological catastrophe that will make their home world unlivable. When that happens humans will be just as advanced as the heptapods and will assist in their evacuation.
Wow. I must say: well done, Michael, it's a really interesting and meaningful examining.
I fell in love with Star Trek TNG because of its abstract discussion of complex philosophical issues. Lately, with more and more Abrams films (lots of explosions and special effects but very little if any, philosophical debate) I've been becoming more and more despondent at the state of Sci-Fi. But this film totally renewed my love for the genre. I can't stop recommending it! I'm commenting on this before I'll watch it, because I just wanted to say that I love your videos every time and I'm stoked to see you cover this. Very happy UA-cam consumer here :-P
Watching the video makes me appreciate the film and all the people involved in it even more.
This movie is absolutely stunning, in all aspects and formulates into an overall high impact and beautiful film.
I would love to see you tackle screenplays of foreign language film that adheres less strictly to the traditional Hollywood story structure. Something like Park Chan-Wook or the adaptation of Haruki Murakamis novel Norwegian Wood.
Or the expansion from short film to feature film - like Paddy Considines Dog Altogether that became Tyrannosaur.
A look at adapting real world events could also be really interesting getting your take on.
Amazing video! Love your channel!
Thanks!
DC should really see this. They need to stop putting crucial plot points in the damn extended cuts of their films.
what do you mean? the extended cuts are far better than theatrical one and the movie suffers because of this.
😂😂😂
WOW, just... WOW. Such a genius video, so crisp, so clear, it might even be your best video yet. You have just made it into my favourite channel's list sir. This video is as beautiful, simple and... perfect as Arrival is.
As someone who adored this movie (My favorite film of 2016!), I thought this video was absolutely insightful and well-thought out.
I was just about to leave for school, but I can wait 13:34
Oh great, now I'm making people late for school!
No worries, it was worth it haha
Thank you! Ever since I've read the short story I've been itching to talk about how it was adapted but I had no one to talk to. This is a wonderful analysis.
And thanks for a new podcast! Do you listen to The Writers Panel as well? There was a great episode about The Knick, I hope you'll do a video on that series one day.
I've listened to it a couple times, but need to go back to it! Glad you enjoyed the video!
I’d love to see your take on the evolution of the Alien series, particularly the evolution of the ones realised by Ridley Scott, both in realisation and screenplay, in order to see what made the first Alien such an amazing movie, and how Ridley Scott failed to both recreate and innovate the formula.
Would definitely be interesting! I love Alien.
You are a great guy , and you are adding something new to UA-cam
This should have won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. And Amy Adams should have been at least been nominated. Fantastic movie and protagonist!
Can you talk about La La Land?... I mean, Moonlight.
I liked one of those a lot! :P
[chanting] moonlight, moonlight, moonlight
Lessons from the Screenplay Jokes apart, :P I also suggest you make an Interstellar video. That's one of my favorite films of all time and I want to know what you think of it. I love your channel, you're awesome!
Lessons from the Screenplay Seriously though, can you PLEASE do a video on La La Land!!! It's my favorite film ever!
Lord Cat Vader Best Comment
Incredible! Your videos are always so great :) I loved Arrival so I almost died when I saw you made a video about it
Thank you!
Michael, this is great! My only note: we want these more often. Too much time passes between your videos. I know it's asking a lot, but we'd love you to increase the frequency. Keep up the good work!
If it was at all possible to do it faster, trust me I would! This is my full time focus. But doing them right simply takes a lot of time. Rest assured I'm not going slowly on purpose :)
This movie is always a good cry. To me amongst all going on it’s simply a celebration of life and the wonder of existence. Loved your analysis.
The best science fiction film in a long time. It was wonderfully refreshing and beautifully crafted in every regard.
p.s. The Heptapod dream sequence scared the life out of me, because I was so invested in the Amy Adam's performance and the storytelling. Great stuff. xx