Even More District 9
I find myself returning to this movie once again. This time after watching several of the special features on the Blu-Ray my wife got me for Christmas. The picture you see is director Neill Blomkamp talking to actor David James who plays Wikus’ nemesis, Koobus Venter.
District 9 continues to enchant me, more so than the ever beautiful ‘The Fall’. Mainly because of my utter love for science fiction. The things I learned amazed me yet again. I knew there was some improvisation the actors were allowed to do, what I didn’t know was that there was practically no script for Sharlto Copley and company to follow. Blomkamp had key points or ideas he wanted to hit in each scene but would allow the characters to get there on their own. Sometimes Copley would go off on tangents that would have little to do with anything, but Blomkamp found that other times Sharltos tangents created greater depth for the story that even Neill couldn’t have thought of.
The direction given from scene to scene was to keep it as literal towards the documentary style shooting as they could. Which wasn’t hard since they were using hand-held cameras most of the time. More specifically nine digital Red Ones as well as Sony EX1s and EX3s. I don’t know anything about cameras, but these appear far different than most cameras I’ve seen used to shoot blockbusters.
That’s part of what made me fall in love with D9. It wasn’t a blockbuster. They didn’t have tens of millions of dollars to spend on computer graphics, nor did it base its stake on ‘wow-ing’ audiences with all that CG they could buy *cough*Avatar*cough*. In fact, all but the final metamorphosis of Wikus into a prawn, was done completely with practical, real life, effects. IE lots of make-up and rubber. There was also an actor who played many of the prawns before they were digitally inserted into the frame. He was a hoot to watch during some of the behind the scenes moments.
This to me, is a movie of movies. It has its flaws and it may fail at times, but there’s just so much good about it that any shortcomings are not important.
My Sci-Fi 
I would like to know what specifically it is that you identify with, or that pulls at all the right strings, that has made this movie such a personal favorite for you? We all have them, films that for reasons only known to ourselves touch us deeply and perhaps leave us with a greater feeling of appreciation than those around us. I liked District 9 and enjoyed it for what it was, a shining example of Hollywood-influenced independent SciFi, yet I was not “blown away”(love the cliches) by its precepts or its techniques. Nor was I left wanting more from it; it was a solidly satisfactory film that I’m sure I’ll see again. I guess what I’m getting at is that you have told us why the film is good and how neat many of the aspects of its creation were, but you have yet to expose the deeper feelings and ideas in the film that have sealed it in your filmgoers heart as a “movie of movies”. Maybe I’m asking too much, yet these are things that I ask of myself when the occasion arises and I find myself upright and beating on my chest, proclaiming “THERE IS NO OTHER!”.
Comment by Luke Lewis | December 26, 2009