Down to Earth

When I was young, all I wanted to read was science fiction novels.

Every few weeks, I’d go to the Brooklyn Public Library on Ridge Boulevard and head straight for the science fiction section to find books by such writers as Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke.

I am indebted to these authors because they—along with The Hardy Boys-helped me develop my love of reading.

As I got older, my interest in science fiction gave way to crime stories with Raymond Chandler muscling out Robert Silverberg. I’ve since moved away from genre stories for the most part to more "serious" fiction.

Obviously, our tastes change as we get older, but I do feel a little wistful sometimes when I think about the kid in his Catholic school uniform so eagerly looking for his next trip to space.

I’ll still look at science fiction movies—if they’re good, but I’ve always had a bit trouble defining a good sci fi film.

Recently, however, I watched two films by the same director that helped put the issue in perspective.

Denis Villeneuve, an incredibly talented director—I highly recommend his 2013 film Prisoners with Huge Jackman—is the force behind Dune and Arrival and the movies underscore what I’m talking about.

They’re both science fiction films, but they couldn’t be more different.

Dune is based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, which was the big science fiction book of the day. The story takes place in a feudal interstellar society where various noble houses control planetary fiefs.

Although the book was wildly popular, I had a hard time with it and I never get around to finishing it, which was rare by in those days. Someday I’d like to give it another try.

David Lynch did the first film adaption in 1984 and it was not well-received by fans of the book or moviegoers who couldn’t make head nor tail out of the story.

There was a miniseries in 2000 and most recently, Villeneuve’s 2021 movie, which I recently watched on Amazon Prime.

Speaking my Language

Visually, the film is stunning. Villeneuve just can’t make a bad-looking film and he did a fabulous job of bringing this fantasy world to live.

On the emotional side, however, it left me cold. I never got into the drama, never felt anything, and spent most of the film enjoying the images and little else.

Arrival was a completely different experience. Released in 2016, it tells the story of a linguist who works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after 12 mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.

The film stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, and to be honest, I wasn’t particularly interested in watching it until I learned that it had been directed Villeneuve. And even then, I wasn’t expecting much.

Boy, did I get did a surprise. This is a science fiction film, all right, but it uses elements like aliens and spaceships and time shifts to tell a very human story.

The film is based on the novella “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang and it is light years from any “space opera” with ray guns and hideous monsters.

There's no Wookies or droids or Obi Wan Kenobis here. Just real people living through a fantastic situation.

Amy Adams plays the linguist, whom we see raising and ultimately losing a daughter.

I’m reluctant to say much more out of fear of ruining the story, but I can say that it’s an excellent film—and not just in the science fiction genre.

I look at that young man in the library searching through the science fiction titles trying to find the one that will make his imagination soar. I wonder if he would like Arrival if he saw it.

Maybe not at the first viewing. But give him time and I’m sure he’ll come around.