More Human than Human Nature: District 9
By Christian De Matteo

Solid

District 9 should probably get a Super from me, not a Solid, and yet I can’t do it.  Why? Well, because of the brilliance of the first 20 minutes.  Had the movie opened past the back story and with the direct plot, I would probably have given it a Super for all the cool visuals, great shots and general badassery of the sci-fi violence.  But because it started with something so much better than any of that and then went into the plot, I can only give it a Solid.

Please let me explain.  Neill Blomkamp, expanding on his 7 minute film, “Alive in Joburg”, has had a brainchild of astounding beauty.  Blomkamp has entered the arena of the greatest sci-fi minds of all time who know that the first order of business is to come up with a brand new concept.  And since there is, in fact, nothing new under the sun, this is a difficult task.  The task becomes, therefore, taking an old concept and looking at it from a new angle, presenting it from a different side, giving it a different spin to force the audience to think about an old idea in a brand new way, or at least clearly for the first time in a long time.  And Blomkamp has done this. 

Many people are bringing up the idea that District 9 is about racism, but I think this is much too simplistic a take on what he’s created.  As I said about Haggis’ Crash as well, this is not about racism, but rather about nothing less than Human Nature.  And as the great Ray Bradbury did so brilliantly with The Martian Chronicles, what better way to remind an unaware audience about their own nature and have them listen, than to make them think they’re learning about alien nature instead.  Sneak in the commentary, educate by misdirection and entertain all the while. 

And this Blomkamp accomplishes admirably.  District 9 is an action bonanza packaged in a concept that can’t help be engaging on most levels and is even fascinating on some others, that celebrates all the technology Hollywood can wrangle by showcasing fictional technology that’s nothing short of awesome.  He’s also peopled his world with interesting characters and a much more complicated lead character than we are used to being given (even if the actor – a very interesting Sharlto Copley - looks so painfully like Steve Carrell that I inadvertently laughed during one of the last climactic close-ups).

The problem, however, is that the plot, as much fun as it might be, is mired in a bit of sci-fi cliché that was all but completely absent in the brilliant, documentary-style first 20 minutes.

I could have watched the first 20 minutes all day.  I could have watched them for twenty hours.  The documentary feel of the narrative, the interviews, the hysterical social satire embedded in all the interview dialogue as well as the brilliant shots of the “Prawns” (the handy South African slur for the non-humans) fighting over old tires and being served (comedy gold here) eviction notices.  The idea that humanity’s solution to an Alien immigration problem would be to mystify the aliens with humanity’s number one weapon, the labyrinthine corridors of bloated red-tape bureaucracy, is sheer, Douglas Adams/Terry Pratchett-inspired brilliance.

And Wikus Van De Merwe… what a character!  In many ways, this film is simply the story of a bureaucrat getting his comeuppance wrapped around a major life lesson.  And that too is wonderful.

The problem is that when the documentary format suddenly gets muddled with regular film-making and we can’t tell right away which is which, and the plot steps way back into all-too-familiar territory – a 1980s sort of watered-down Phillip K. Dick story battered into an Arnold Schwartanegger vehicle – we can’t help but know that something truly rare and wonderful was just lost to the needs of Hollywood style story telling. 

One wonders if this is a film that would have benefited from a smaller budget and more artistic control, or whether Neill Blomkamp is just finding his footing and a District 9, Part 2 might truly be something to behold.

The fact is I’ll happily go see a sequel.  In fact, I might just go see District 9 itself again, since I am very curious what my reaction would be to it a second time, now knowing that the twinkling of greatness at the beginning will end and be followed by more standard, but still well done action plotting bolstered by brilliant special effects.

I see many things in this film, notably the early stirrings of sci-fi greatness, clear Terry Gilliam inspirations, and cinematography skill second to none. Most of all, though, I see massive, massive potential.  I see Neill Blomkamp as having just entered our universe a force to be reckoned with.  I believe that Neill Blomkamp, unless I’m very, very mislead here, will have made some of my favorite movies by the time I die, and District 9 will be a film I always remember as very strong opening salvo to his career, maybe even a warning shot.  I recommend District 9 highly, but think I will recommend whatever he follows it up with even more so.  That next film, “District 10” or something entirely new, will, I now predict, be a clear Super, if not a HUGE.