Arrival

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

Arrival (2016), directed by Denis Villeneuve, addresses the topic of communication between differing parties, how it can harm if misused or misunderstood, or heal if used properly. The film challenges the audience to see language as a way of viewing existence in a totally different way to which people are accustomed.

 Slow mournful music opens the film as Louise Banks (Amy Adams) narrates, “I used to think this was the beginning of your story. Memory is a strange thing. It doesn’t work the way I thought it did. We are so bound by time, by its order.” She looks at her infant daughter, Hannah. She seems to remember the girl’s life as she grew up. But her life was cut short by an illness. She then says, “But now I’m not so sure I believe in beginnings and endings. There are days that define your story beyond your life.” The opening appears to be a memory of something in the past. But it is not, as we learn. Time in this story is not linear. Her daughter’s name is Hannah, which is a palindrome. Its forward and backward spelling symbolizes a similar movement in time, as the story explores. (The title of the film could have many references. It could refer to the birth of a baby, arriving at a conclusion, as well as the landing of aliens).

The movie then shifts to when aliens arrive on Earth. Louise is an eminent linguistics professor. Her students interrupt her with news of the arrival of twelve spaceships on the planet, one in Montana. Later, Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) visits Louise and he points out that she helped the government in the past with translations and has a top-secret clearance. He asks her to attempt to translate the sounds made by two of the aliens’ voices recorded on a brief audio clip. She says since the language is a new one, she must interact with the visitors. Her response stresses the need for the coming together of different parties for communication to occur, which supports the main theme of the film. After he realizes Louise is the best choice for the job he agrees to take her to the landing site. 

On the helicopter flight she meets Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), an experimental physicist, with whom she will be working. He quotes her when he says, “Language is the foundation of civilization. It is the glue that holds a people together. It is the first weapon drawn in a conflict.” The statement shows the dual nature of language, which can be used for friendly and hostile ends. (Many conflicts start with verbal accusations. However, we know that sometimes aggression towards another can just be the desire for a power-grab with no preceding argument). Ian disagrees with her, saying science is the “foundation.” From the start these two are from differing camps, and need to bridge the gap between them, just as the bigger story shows the requirement for nations to unite, and two species to come to a meeting of the minds.

 

The spacecraft is oval in shape and looks like a seashell. It stands on its vertical axis instead of sitting flat, which is what we would expect it to do. The position suggests that these aliens do not conform to our perception of what is routine. After arriving at the landing site, Louise and Ian wear protective gear, including an oxygen supply. These layers of apparel show how the start of a connection with others begins with a distancing step.

Weber says that every eighteen hours a door opens at the bottom tip of the spacecraft to allow visitors. Once they enter the opening, gravity changes and they can walk on the wall as if it was a floor. This phenomenon is another uncommon element which must be learned to make contact. (The soundtrack has siren that are similar to what The Purge films contain. Here, its use is ironic because it underlines how humans are apprehensive of the unknown, which can prevent the making of a connection with others).

The chamber in which Louise and Ian confront the aliens has a transparent barrier separating the two races. It is another actual and symbolic barrier to overcome. The aliens are very different than us. They are shrouded in a fog, again stressing the need to break through confusion towards some kind of clarity. Two approach the glass and each has seven tentacles, which leads to them being called “Heptapods” Louise feels overwhelmed at this first encounter, so she is not able to initiate any attempt at communication. Her response shows the difficulty dealing with those that differ so much from what we are accustomed to.

The people of Earth react with fear and apprehension as states of emergency are declared, looting occurs, travel is canceled, economies tank, and militaries prepare for fighting. The movie suggests that fear is a roadblock to understanding. One soldier on a phone call to home hears that his children are afraid “the monsters” are going to kill the father. The film here shows the narrow-minded fear of humans can block out understanding.

Louise tries written communication by using a pre-digital white-board to show a human alphabet. The Heptapods respond by secreting an ink-like substance (sort of what squid on Earth do) that illustrates their lettering. It is interesting that their graphics are circular, which points to how their minds work as we see later in the tale. Louise justifies using the written form of communication because it helps lessen misunderstanding. She makes up a story saying that when the natives of Australia were asked what the animals who hop around are called, they said, “kangaroo,” which Captain Cook decided to name the animals. But the word actually means, “I don’t understand.” Weber inserts the military attitude of being wary of anything foreign when he says that Louise should be careful what she teaches them so as not to give an advantage to possibly aggressive invaders. His response shows the defensive, fearful human attitude as opposed to the academic curious response.

Louise explains to Weber that asking, “what are your intentions?” is too complex a question to ask the newcomers up front. She must have them understand what a question is, and the difference between a personal “you” and the inclusive “you” that can include a whole people. So, she must have time to build a foundation of understanding. That patience from an impatient military standpoint is difficult to accept.

At the next session, the courageous Louise takes off her hazmat suit to break away from a distancing connection toward a personal one. She puts her open hand against the screen, and the alien does the same with its starfish-like end of its tentacle. They have exchanged a sort of “hello.” Now, when she writes her name on the white-board it shows it is easier to make the connection between the name and the person. Ian does the same, shedding his suit and writing his name on the board. The two Heptapods illustrate what appears to be their names. Ian calls them “Abbott and Costello.” For those who are too young to know, they made up a comedy team. But more significantly, their “Who’s on First” routine showed how confusing language can be.

As Louise immerses herself in the alien language she gets visions of her daughter. Again, we believe these are recollections. In these visions, we become aware that she and Hannah’s father have separated.

Ian narrates their findings at this point. He says unlike human languages that have sounds that correlate to the written forms, the alien language does not have that association. It “contains meaning. It doesn’t represent sound.” Ian thanks Pakistan for concluding that the aliens use a “logogram: which is free of time.” (The fact that another country has a breakthrough stresses the idea that cooperation between differing cultures can be a plus). Ian says that the extraterrestrial ship leaves no definite “footprint” since it has no traceable impact in terms of radiation, sound, or any other measurable form. The craft doesn’t even touch the ground. He says, “their written language has no forward or backward direction.” That sums up the circular images, which have variations on the circumferences of the circles to differentiate them. He adds, “Linguists call this nonlinear orthography, which raises the question, ‘is this how they think?’” They can see the beginning and end of a sentence simultaneously, and thus can write a complex sentence quickly. Here we have the idea of seeing time as nonlinear. (Why is Ian narrating here instead of Louise, the linguist? It could represent that Louise’s way of thinking is reaching another being whose background differs from hers, and thus meaning is being conveyed).

Ian and Louise sit out in the evening together, away from all the frenzy around them, where fear seems to rule social media platforms. He says how fortunate it is that he has her to work with, and she sees that all the work comes down to the two of them, which he sees as an attribute. They are not only bridging the gap between their two disciplines but also emphasizing the importance of a single interpersonal connection.

Ian has been reading about what Louise calls the “Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis” that says immersing yourself in a language “rewires your brain.” Louise says the theory states that “the language you speak determines how you think.” Louise, for the purposes of this story, is beginning to think like the aliens.

Weber and Louise are concerned because General Shang (Tzi Ma) of China makes an address that Louise concludes has references to mahjong. Louise sees the danger in trying to communicate by using game strategy because it uses language involving “opposition, victory, defeat.” She says, “If all I ever gave you was a hammer …” then, concludes Weber, “Everything’s a nail.” Here the film shows how a narrow view can block out the big picture and focus on negative interpretations.

Weber pushes Louise to ask what are the aliens’ purpose here. The response is “use weapon.” Louise, probably realizing the word “weapon” may have come from what the Chinese were communicating, stresses that the Heptapods may mean “tool.” The paranoid view of Agent Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg) is the aliens, not seeing one ruler of the planet, wants the various nations “to fight among ourselves until only one faction prevails.” He says that world history shows that imperialistic nations have used this tactic in the past, implying it makes conquest simpler.

The nations had been cooperating but now are breaking off communications because of the leads of China and Russia becoming alarmed about the “use weapon” translation. They consider it a hostile attempt by the aliens to cause people to fight among themselves. Louise has the voice of sanity as she states the primary theme of this story: “We should be talking to each other!”

Now, using the information from prior sessions, Louise can use digital technology to transmit alien symbols to communicate quickly. Inside the spacecraft, the alien tells her to touch the transparent barrier and write on it directly to close the gap between them. Abbott and Costello transmit a complicated message. However, some scared military operatives planted explosives aboard the craft. As the explosion occurs, Abbott expels Louise and Ian from the meeting area to save them, showing the aliens’ nonviolent desires.

China issues an ultimatum to the aliens to leave within twenty-four hours or face destruction, and other countries line up behind General Shang. Meanwhile as Ian and Louise try to make sense out of the last communication, Louise has a dream of her daughter wanting a scientific word for a win-win scenario. She tells Hannah to ask her father. It is here that we may realize that the father is Ian.

Ian makes a breakthrough in his analysis of the alien message. He says the symbol for time appears all over the communication. Also, a 3-D illustration shows that the message sent by the Washington aliens occupies one twelfth of a larger message, shown by gaps in the image. Louise suggests that the full message is split between the twelve crafts and that the Heptapods want all the nations to collaborate in order to decipher a complete transmission. The aliens are encouraging unity, for all nations to take a leap to understand the whole picture, not just fractional perspectives. Ian says that they should make an effort to share what they have learned with other nations, implying the need to open the lines of communication and cooperation. But Halpern says that nobody is listening to anyone else, suggesting that the truth is not getting out. The film could be saying that is the problem with our world today.

The shell spacecraft now rises higher in the air, as if suggesting that it is up to the people of Earth to take charge. They do, however, send down a pod for Louise to access the ship. She enters a vaporous area behind the barrier from which an alien emerges. The full size of Costello appears, and it is taller than what Louise previously saw, with a type of head at the top. It is as if she is now gaining more knowledge coming out of a cloud of confusion. She is communicating verbally with them now and they understand each other. Costello says Abbots is dying, probably from the blast, a sacrifice made for humanity. He says they are helping Earth’s inhabitants because in three thousand years they will need our help. She asks how can they know the future, and then she sees a vision of Hannah again. When she asks who is the child, the audience now concludes that it is the future she now sees. She has been rewired and can think like the visitors. The “weapon” is really a tool, and it is language. (Of course, even though learning a new language may change how we order words and parts of speech, stress some aspects of life more than others, it doesn’t mean we actually are able to perceive existence to the level of, say, an Einstein, or have prescience. But, for the themes of this film, it works symbolically).

As the camp disbands, Louise hears her daughter say, “Wake up Mommy.” It’s as if she is telling Louise to realize what is happening. Louise has a premonition of meeting General Shang at a formal reception arranged by the President. Shang says that eighteen months ago she was able to change his mind, something nobody has done. He says that she contacted him on his “private number.” She says she doesn’t know it. He shows her his cell phone and says, “Now you know.” She takes this future information and uses it to contact Shang in the present on Halpern’s phone. He tells her the final words of Shang’s dying wife which only he could know, and she says them in Mandarin in the present. That act showed Shang that what she learned was a gift from the aliens and led him to give up aggression and seek unification with other countries. We get a view of a book she will publish called The Universal Language. It most likely will teach the people of Earth to learn the language of the aliens, and, maybe, think like them, thus allowing for that help for the aliens in the future.

In the present, their job done, the aliens leave. Ian admits that despite what he was looking for in the stars, he found meeting Louise is the most important discovery in his life. The stress here is on individuals. She holds him and we have a shot of them embracing in the future, as time collapses. She says in the present how she forgot how good it feels hugging him. Of course, the irony is this time is the first.

She asks him in that moment, if he knew his life from beginning to end, would he change anything. That is the final question this film asks us. She changed history by deciding to call Shang to tell him what she learned. But what about knowing that her daughter will die of a rare, incurable illness? Louise gives her answer when she says, in narration, “So, Hannah... This is where your story begins. The day they departed. Despite knowing the journey... and where it leads... I embrace it. And I welcome every moment of it.” She decides to go ahead with marrying Ian and having her daughter, even though she knows Ian will leave her for not telling her about this tragic moment in their future. He believed she made the wrong choice. The film asks us, what would we do?

E. T. - The Extra-Terrestrial

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

E. T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), although considered by many to be a children’s film, contains elements common in other Steven Spielberg movies: seemingly ordinary characters who excel under extraordinary situations; the suspicion toward government forces; the presentation of frightening and comic elements together; and the theme of reality versus fantasy. In addition, as Robert Ebert points out in his book, The Great Movies, this film is a triumph of cinematic perspective.

It begins with a shot of the stars, a place of wonder and amazement, and a spacecraft that descends to our planet, bringing those elevated elements down to earth. We see obscured night shots in the forest which add to the mystery of this visit, as alien fingers explore and experiment with the forest vegetation. The celestial visitors hear a sound and lights shine in their chests, possibly revealing an emotional response but which can also show how the beings connect with each other. E. T. is an agricultural worker and is curious and wanders off. He looks at a town’s lights from the height of a cliff, as if viewing its inhabitant from a more highly aware level. The shot is similar to ones in Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. However, the camera following E. T. and the other aliens provides shots close to the ground to stress the perspective of the short E. T. since his race has the same view of life as do children, which cements the connection between the two groups.

Pickup trucks arrive to investigate the outer space arrival, and again the glaring lights of the vehicles and just the legs of the arriving men are shown from E. T.’s perspective. This view contributes a sense of danger because the men seem imposing in their height. We see that one man has keys attached to his belt, suggesting he is the one in charge, the man who keeps secrets locked away. E. T. is alarmed and tries to run away, his breathing labored, and he lets out screams. His fellow space travelers can’t wait for him to reach the spacecraft, so they take off as the men arrive. E. T. hides, his “heart light” glowing because of the loss of his connection to his companions.

Elliott (Henry Thomas) and his older brother Mike (Robert MacNaughton) along with his friends are at Elliott’s house in a suburban California neighborhood. One can see the influence here on the show Stranger Things, as almost the entire film centers on young children involved with beings from another world. They are playing a fantasy board game, not knowing at this point that fantasy will become reality for them. Elliott hears a noise outside as he picks up the pizza delivery and finds it is coming from a storage shed. As he approaches it, a ball rolls out to him. Even though this action seems harmless and somewhat playful, Elliott is startled and runs inside. Despite Elliott’s warning, the boys, given their age, innocently see the situation as a game as they head outside. They reproduce The Twilight Zone theme song to indulge their playful scary fun. They see footprints and Mike concludes it was a coyote.

Later, when everyone else is asleep, Elliott, still alert, and his dog hear noises again. He goes outside with a flashlight and enters some cornfields (why are so many eerie events in movies occur in these crops? Maybe because they are tall and can hide stuff). Again the camera films from Elliott’s height level, putting the audience in his shoes. The flashlight shines on E. T. and both he and Elliott frighten each other. E. T. runs off, and all we see are the swinging child’s gym set, overturned trash can, and swinging gate left in his wake, which adds a sense of the mysterious to the setting. Elliott looks upward, as if having an inclination that what he saw was otherworldly and he must alter his perspective to deal with this change in his life.

Elliot later goes into the woods and leaves Reese's Pieces (definitely not adult food) as a way to lure the creature he saw out into the open. He spies a man in the same area who looks like he is checking out the ground, looking for evidence. Elliott instinctively is wary of this unknown person as if realizing that human strangers can be scary, too. Elliott’s family, including Gertie (Drew Barrymore), his little sister, don’t believe him when he tells them what he saw. People often do not want to believe in anything so unusual, especially when a child is telling the story, as they attribute such stories to the lively imagination of the young.

The film introduces the effects of divorce on children as Elliott says that his dad would believe him, but can’t talk to him because he is in Mexico with the new woman in his life. Kids tend to shift their allegiance to the absent parent when the one who is present does not seem to be meeting the child’s needs. Mom, Mary (Dee Wallace), is in tears just thinking about the marital breakup. Elliott has insight into what scientists do when they discover something new. He says they’ll give this new specimen a “lobotomy” or something invasive, and Elliott is looking for someone to fill up the whole created by the absence of his father. Mike is then angry at Elliott for upsetting their mother, which adds to the family unhappiness.

Elliott sleeps outside, wanting to meet the creature he saw, but becomes afraid when E. T. shows up and approaches him. But, E. T. drops the candy Elliott left him on Elliott’s chair, as if saying he would like more. E. T. makes cute, almost purring sounds and waddles, which makes him likable. Elliott drops more candy and he follows the boy upstairs to his room. E. T. imitates Elliott’s hand gestures, as the two start to communicate in a playful way. E. T. seems to make a mental connection with Elliott as the alien gets sleepy when Elliott does.

The faceless men, including “Keys” (Peter Coyote), investigate the woods, and we view them again from a child’s vantage point, low to the ground, which makes the adults seem ominously towering. Keys finds E. T.’s footprints and a stash of Reese’s Pieces. Meanwhile, the next day, Elliott puts a thermometer near a light in his bedroom to fake a fever so he can stay home with E. T.  Elliott introduces E. T. to his world through his playthings. Spielberg gives a humorous nod here to his pal, George Lucas, by noting toy figures from Star Wars movies, and also to his own film, Jaws, when Elliott says fish eat their food, and sharks eat other fish, “but nobody eats a shark.” Elliott is talking quickly, dispensing information pertaining to the objects in his room, as he appears eager to make a connection with someone else. E. T. puts things in his mouth, as if the creature is like Elliott’s baby sibling. Elliott wonders if E. T. is hungry, and he says he himself is, which again points to their developing closeness. Poor E. T. is frightened by Elliott’s barking dog, Harvey, which stresses how vulnerable the space visitor feels, just like we would, if stranded in an alien environment. When E. T. is startled by the quick opening of an umbrella he handles, Elliott, in the kitchen, likewise is alarmed, and drops the food he is gathering from the refrigerator, which again shows the quickly growing link between the two. Elliott finds his new friend shaking among his stuffed toy animals, the image making it look like E. T. is one of Elliott’s toys, only much more interactive. Elliott, like most children, is very accepting of someone who is different because he brings no prejudices and fears with him. The relationship between the two shows humans are at their best when they embrace those that are different from each other. Elliott humorously asks E. T. if he wants a Coke, just as if this alien was already one of his friends.

When Mike comes home, Elliott wants to include him in his discovery, but makes him swear to go by his rules. After Mike sees E. T., Gertie also comes in and the screaming starts as Mike knocks down a bookcase accidentally, and Gertie and E. T. become hysterical at each other’s appearance. Mike keeps his promise about obeying his brother's wishes, and ensures that Gertie is quiet as they and E. T. hide from their mother upon her return. The camera shots from Elliot’s closet put us in the same place as Mike and Gertie, as we feel like we are included within their circle, and are hiding with them. After Mary leaves, Elliott immediately tells Mike that he is “keeping him,” like E. T. is his adopted pal. Gertie’s youthful curiosity kicks in as she asks about E. T. Elliott wants her not to tell their mother, and makes up a reason, saying E. T. is invisible to adults and only little kids can see him. Gertie shifts from innocent, inquisitive child to grown-up cynicism, and the contrast is humorous when she says, “Give me a break,” an improvised line by the already savvy Barrymore.

Keys and his comrades continue to probe the surrounding area with telephoto lens cameras and electronic detection devices. The children gather food and objects for E. T., including a potted flowering plant, that will gain significance later. Elliott shows E. T. a globe of the earth and points out their location in California. When he asks E. T. where he’s from, E. T. seems to understand and points upward to the sky through the window. Elliott shows a picture of the solar system and points to the earth and then to the globe, saying the planet is “home,” the word resonating with the alien visitor later. The children are astonished as E. T. then makes some fruit levitate, as if attempting to create a three-dimensional picture of orbiting planets. The kids now see that E. T. has some amazing abilities, which make an impact on their lives which were only exciting through imagination before. E. T. looks at a book about the alphabet as he tries to learn to communicate. The plant which looked like it was dying now sprouts to life as E. T. looks at it, showing his regenerative powers, and pointing to his Christ-figure, regenerative character. (There are other possible Christian references, although Spielberg insists that they are only coincidental).

On the way to the school bus, the kids seem like genuine characters as they trade youthful insults, goading Elliott about his goblin coming back. When Elliott blurts out that he’s a spaceman, one boy asks does he come from “Uranus,” but then qualifies his joke by saying, “your anus.” Young Elliott is funny when he tells the boy in an adult way that the youth is “immature.” Their other verbal attacks appear genuine as they derive from the pop culture that makes up their world. As Mary is getting Gertie ready to go to school, she hears some shuffling upstairs in the house. Mary goes to Elliott’s room and into the closet. In a very funny shot, she looks at the wall of stuffed creatures, and E. T. is smart enough to hide in plain sight, his face motionless as his head appears again like one of Elliott’s many toys. The joke here is that E. T. is one of Elliott’s playmates who comes to life, which puts E. T. in the company of Pinocchio and the characters in Toy Story, among other transformative characters.

In his biology class, Elliott is drawing a picture of E. T. (writing “E. T.” on the paper, thus naming his new friend, which reminds us that Elliott’s name begins with an “E” and ends with a “T,” further stressing their connection). The class is assigned to dissect frogs. Meanwhile, E. T. walks around the house in a robe looking like a suburbanite, checking out the refrigerator. E. T. drinks beer, just like an earthling, as he assimilates human ways. As he becomes intoxicated, so does Elliott, who burps due to the intake of the alcoholic beverage, and slips off his chair as E. T. falls down. E. T. plays with an electronic toy (which he will use later along with the umbrella) and the TV remote. He is engrossed by the sci-fi movie being shown, as he probably thinks it’s real, given how he came to earth. The use of the film clip also points to how human imagination through art can turn fantasy into reality in the viewer’s mind. The frogs in the class are not already dead and must be put to sleep in jars with chloroform, which allows the ensuing action to take place. The frog caught in Elliott’s jar is accompanied by the film’s theme music which reminds us of E. T. caught here on earth. This shot is followed by a cut to E. T.’s fingers, whose skin looks frog-like, cementing the connection between the two creatures for us and with Elliott. E. T. looks at a newspaper cartoon about aliens and the drawing shows a request for “Help.” E. T. then watches the television which has people talking on phones as he notices the house phone. E. T. will use these observations to devise a plan for his rescue. E. T’s thoughts translate to Elliott as the words “Save him,” which Elliott utters, and he proceeds to liberate all of the frogs in a variation on E. T’s plight. Ordinary Elliott is elevated to hero status, bringing freedom to the amphibians. E. T. watches a romantic scene in a movie where a man kisses a woman, and just like the man in the movie Elliott triumphantly kisses a girl from the class, showing E. T.’s emotional effect on him, and how cinema has an impact on an audience.

E. T. is assembling his tools when the mother comes home along with Gertie. Still a bit drunk, E. T. wanders around the house, but the adult Mary from her height doesn’t notice him, even knocking him over as she opens the refrigerator door, (and turning Elliott’s invented story about adults not being capable of seeing E. T. into a reality). Gertie tries to have her mother meet E. T., but she is not paying attention to her daughter as she is caught up in her activities. E. T. here represents the children that adults overlook as they are immersed in their more mature lives. Mary sees an empty beer can on the kitchen floor while at the same time she gets a call from school saying Elliott was intoxicated. As she goes to pick her son up, Gertie hears E. T. repeating letters that she is saying as she watches a children’s educational show on the television. He begins to repeat her words, including “phone.” She asks if he wants to call someone. Indeed he does.

When Elliott comes home he hears Gertie talking to E. T. upstairs. In a funny scene, Elliott sees she dressed E. T. up in girl’s clothes with a silly wig, as in her own way she joins Elliott in wanting to have fun and play with their new friend. E. T. is talking now. He calls Elliott by his name and looks at the sky, saying “home.” Then comes the famous line, “E. T phone home,” which he repeats. Mike arrives and is stunned that the alien is talking. Elliott realizes that if his new friend communicates with his people, “they will come.” E. T. says he wants to “come home,” which is what we all want, no matter who we are, because it makes us feel secure and happy.

There is an ominous black (the movie color representing potential danger) van monitoring the conversations in the neighborhood. The anonymous government people listen to Elliott and Mike talking about how they are looking for equipment for E. T. Mike notes that the alien is looking less healthy, and Elliott doesn’t want to hear that negativity, saying “we” are doing fine. Mike questions the plural pronoun, but the audience has seen how the two are linked together. As they go through garage items, Elliott becomes nostalgic about how they did things with their father, another indication about the feelings of loss among children of divorced parents.

Mary reads Peter Pan to Gertie as E. T. listens in hiding, again implying how for children the world of imagination feels real. Gertie claps her hands to show she believes in fairies and to demonstrate her childlike belief in magic. To drive home this point, Elliott hurts his finger bringing items from the garage. He says “ouch,” and E. T. lights up his own finger which heals the cut, which stresses E. T.’s redemptive power. But as he levitates his assembled objects to make his “phone,” the plant that was flowering now appears limp as it reflects E. T.’s failing health.

The children devise a plan to get E. T. out of the house on Halloween, an appropriate holiday for a story about an alien visitor. They cover E. T. in a ghost costume so as to pass him off as Gertie. The perspective again is upward as we see things from E. T.’s viewpoint so we can better empathize with his character. Mike has on makeup that looks like he has a knife through his head. E. T. takes fantasy for reality when he wants to heal the wound, repeating Elliott’s word, “ouch.” It’s a funny moment, but it emphasizes Spielberg’s interest that he explores in many of his films concerning the contrast between the real and fantastic realms.

We continue to see the camera peer through the eye holes cut out in the ghost sheet, looking up at what for E. T. are strange sights but as we know are pretend visions as a result of costumes. The audience members watch the invented image of E. T. and suspend their disbelief and submit to the illusion created by movies. One humorous shot connected to this theme occurs when a child in a Yoda outfit passes by and E. T. calls out “home, home,” as if he has recognized a fellow visitor from outer space. Elliott rides his bike to take E. T. to a site in the woods to send the signal. As they approach the edge of a cliff, E. T. uses his powers to make the bike fly. It is an exhilarating moment as John Williams’s score rises with the movement of the bike. We empathize as we are thrilled because what kid or adult doesn’t dream of flying? It seems silly that Elliott keeps pedaling since he is no longer on the ground, but it stresses how part of him is anchored to the earth since what is actually happening is something that was confined to dreams and imagination. The now iconic shot of the bike against the glowing moon shows how people can break the tether that restricts them to the mundane and soar above what confines them. In contrast, we see Elliott’s mother, dressed up in a costume, being a kid herself for the night, then looking at the clock as if, like Cinderella, her coach has turned back into a pumpkin. She snuffs out a candle, symbolically extinguishing her youthful playfulness for the evening.

E. T. deploys his makeshift transmitter, while Mary goes looking for the tardy Elliott. After she drives away, the mysterious government men get out of a car parked in front of the house and invade the sanctity of their private home. E. T. keeps saying “home,” and says, “ouch” as he points to himself to indicate that he is getting sick and doesn’t have much time. Elliott wants his new friend to stay so they could grow up together as buddies. Elliot falls asleep in the woods and realizes E. T. is missing when he wakes up. Elliott returns home but doesn’t look well. He asks Mike to find E. T. in the woods. His brother rides on his bike as the secret investigators try to follow him. Mike finds E. T. looking very pale in a shallow stream. Mike brings E. T. back home and they finally reveal their secret to their mother. Elliott says “we’re sick. I think we’re dying.” His empathic link to another suffering creature is a model for humans who all too often think only of themselves. Mary, not understanding the situation, instinctively wants to remove her children from E. T.’s presence to protect them. As she opens her door to leave the house a man in a spacesuit slowly enters the residence, exhibiting ominous breathing sounds similar to those of Darth Vader. He walks through a beaded curtain covering a doorway, looking like a ghost. Another suited person comes through a window. Who is scarier, the earth spacemen or the real alien, E. T.?

Now the government men show up in force. They cocoon Elliot’s house in plastic covering and set up a quarantined environment. But, as we know, living creatures break out of their cocoons. The family is questioned by doctors as their world is invaded not by aliens but by earthlings. Elliott says they are scaring E. T., and as Mike informs the government people, Elliott knows because he shares E. T.’s feelings. Elliott keeps saying he is the one to take care of E. T. since he chose Elliott. We now see Keys’ face and he turns out to be a sympathetic character who has retained his childlike wonder of the fantastic. He tells Elliot that E. T. came to him, too, in a way, probably because he has wanted to contact an extra-terrestrial since he was ten years old. He assures Elliott that he doesn’t want E. T. to die. Elliot says that to save E. T. the alien must go home and that is why he tried to contact his people. Keys says it is a “miracle” that E. T. is here. His words carry a religious implication. E. T.  performs miracles in the sense that he defies gravity and has healing powers. As Keys talks, Elliott is reflected in his visor, emphasizing the connection between Elliott and Keys. Keys says to Elliot that he was “glad he met you first,” which shows that Keys realizes that an innocent, imaginative, uncorrupted child was the best first contact that can be made by someone foreign.

Elliott tells E. T. as they lie next to each other in hospital beds that he wants them to stay together, and that “I’ll be right here” for E. T. As E. T.’s vital signs fail, the link between the two disconnects and Elliott’s health returns. There is a shot of the older Mike huddling with the stuffed toys as he, too, finds strength in a childlike setting. When Mike wakes up in the morning the plant dramatically wilts and dies, echoing E. T.’s demise. Elliott cries in his mother’s arms and the doctors call the time of E. T.’s death.  A tearful Gertie tells her mom that she wishes E. T. would come back, the way fairies can return in Peter Pan, by believing in them. She sounds as if she feels that magic can transcend the laws of our material world. To show how this belief can extend to the adult world, her mother says, “I wish, too.”

Keys lets Elliot spend some time alone with E. T. before they take him away. Elliott is unhappy because he knows that they will just dissect him, like the frogs. Elliott says he can’t feel anything anymore, as if this loss has emptied all his emotions except sadness. He says he loves E. T. which is the greatest gift one can give to another, no matter where they are from. Elliott closes the container that houses E. T., and the top seals like a coffin. But as Elliott walks out, he passes the flowerpot which begins to bloom again. Elliott goes to the container and E. T. has revived and is yapping about phoning home. His heart light is glowing, which makes Elliott realize that they were successful in getting in touch with E. T.’s comrades, and that restored connection helped bring him back to life. One can argue that E. T.’s resurrection emulates Jesus rising from the dead. Elliott muffles E. T.’s excited words and closes the container, crying over it to prevent others from hearing him.

Elliott and Mike hatch a plan to get E. T. to the site in the forest so he can be rescued. They hijack the van containing E. T. and with the help of Mike’s friends they try to stay ahead of the authorities. When E. T. is ready to exit the van, he appears elevated physically and symbolically in front of the youths, his heart glowing as he wears a white robe. This image could be interpreted as a god appearing before his disciples. Elliott tells them E. T. is from outer space and they have to take him to his spaceship. One of the boys taps into his Star Trek knowledge and asks why they just can’t “beam” him up. In one of the funniest lines in the film, Elliott dismisses the notion as ridiculous, saying, “This is reality, Greg.” Despite the unreal events that are occurring, Elliott’s line is comically incongruous, as if some things are just too outlandish. 

The boys racing on their bikes form an escort for E. T. as they are able to get around hills and other areas better than the cop cars for a while. But as they are about to get caught, E. T. makes the boys fly, again using his extraordinary powers to alter accepted reality. (In the updated edition of the movie, Spielberg felt it was inappropriate to have guns in the hands of the authorities so close to children so he removed them and substituted walkie-talkies as the boys rise into the sky). They arrive at the transmission site as the alien spaceship lands. Gertie knows where they are going and she joins the others with her mother to say goodbye to E. T. She gives him the flowering plant as a parting gift. E. T., acting like a parent, tells her to be good, because they have become so close. Keys, who is really a kid in adult disguise, also joins them. E. T. tells Elliott “come,” wanting him to board the spaceship with him. But, Elliott says, “Stay,” wanting E. T. to remain on earth. They realize that they must part in order to be with their respective families. The word “ouch” is repeated but it as an emotional wound because E. T. must leave. E. T. then repeats Elliott’s words as he lights up his finger, points to Elliott’s head, and says, “I’ll be right here,” knowing that he will remain in Elliott’s memories. He boards the spaceship, and the door closes like a circular camera dissolve, as Spielberg reminds us of the magical abilities of the movies.

There is a rainbow left behind as the spaceship flies off. It is a biblical symbol of the establishment of a covenant between God and his creations. E. T. may as well have been pointing to all our heads with his brilliant finger, imitating God touching Adam’s hand in the Sistine Chapel, since he will remain with us and generations to come.

The next film is Memento.

Favorite Movie Lines, Part II

SPOILER ALERT! The plots will be discussed.

Here are more not too well known movie lines that I like, and why I think they are noteworthy.

The American President:

Primarily a romantic comedy, this film, written by the man of many interesting words, Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The West Wing), also deals with the world of politics. Michael Douglas’ President Andrew Shephard (Does he have to ‘shepherd’ his country through the mire of negative politics?), who is a widower, must deal with the opposing party accusing him of undermining family values by becoming involved with a lobbyist, Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening). She is depicted as a radical, who many years ago was at a flag burning, and is now pushing for environmental legislation reform. Shephard’s critics condemn him for having Wade sleep over at The White House, and thus exposing the president's young daughter to immorality.  Shepard’s speech at the end of the film addresses the divisive tactics of his political adversaries: “America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, ‘cause it’s gonna put up a fight … The symbol of your country can’t just be a flag: the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest.” He goes on to point out that instead of trying to solve a problem, some are only interested in gaining power, so they divert the population by “making you afraid of it, and telling you who’s to blame. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections.”

Given the current adversarial political environment in America, where people denigrate others, blaming all of the nation’s ills on groups of people, instead of reaching out to come up with workable solutions, Sorkin’s words are still quite relevant.

French Kiss:

Here we have a lighter romantic comedy. Canadian Kate (Meg Ryan) is in France to try to win back her fiance. She encounters Luc (Kevin Kline, who adopts a very good French accent) who is outwardly a crook, but turns out to be the romantic good guy, who just wants enough money to own his own vineyard. Of course, by the end of the film the two become a couple.

Before that happens, Luc hides a stolen necklace in Kate’s bag, and sticks with her, saying he will help her with her boyfriend problem. Kate tries to convince Luc that it is important to display one’s feelings. She tells him, “A healthy person is someone who expresses what they are feeling inside. Express, not repress.” Luc feels that Kate shares too much of what she feels, and his sarcastic observation of her advice that sounds like it was uttered by some TV shrink is “In that case, you must be one of the healthiest people in the world.” Obviously these two are initially separated by more than where they come from geographically. Luc has a more pessimistic view of what to expect out of life, which can be seen when he says, “When people tell me they are happy, my ass begins to twitch.” Kate makes fun of Luc’s attitude by predicting what will become of him. She makes her face appear sad and droopy, pretends to hold a cigarette, and says in a raspy voice, “You’ll become one of those hunchbacked lonely old men, sitting in the corner of a crowded cafe, mumbling to yourself, ‘My ass is twitching. You people make my ass twitch.’”

By exposing each other’s foibles, and their good qualities, the two draw closer, realizing their happiness resides in neither Canada nor France, but in the love they share for each other.

Forget Paris:

It looks like we have a trend here centering on romantic comedies and France. This relatively unknown film is one of my favorites. Billy Crystal was one of the writers, and he also directed and starred in this movie. There are lots of lines to choose from here, and I just picked out a few. Mickey Gordon (Crystal) is a professional basketball referee. His father, who abandoned his family, dies, but wants to be buried with his war buddies in France. Mickey takes the body there, but the airline loses it. That’s where Ellen (Debra Winger) comes in, because she works for the airline. The body has been quarantined for health reasons, which astonishes Mickey: “He’s dead. He’s been de-healthed!” Ellen is very sympathetic, they get to know each other, fall in love, marry, and then separate. Their backstory is related at a dinner party. One recollection is that of Mickey saying to Ellen, “I’ll never forget my father’s last words to me: ‘Get out of my way.’ You can’t buy memories like that.”

At the dinner, Andy (Joe Mantegna) gets into a fight with his fiance, and Craig (Richard Masur) tries to console him by saying, “Here have some bread. Everything will look better after bread.” I like this line, because I know that food among my fellow Italian Americans is considered a non-pharmaceutical antidepressant. So, I can definitely relate to the sentiment expressed here.

While hanging out with his fellow referees, one guy reads from a tabloid which says that they dug up Abraham Lincoln, gave him a shot of some kind of reviving agent, and brought him back to life. Mickey says, “What were his first words? How did the play end?” It’s just a witty remark about the absurdity of these so-called “newspapers.”

The couple reunite and show up at the dinner. What a funny, and feel-good, movie.

Sleepless in Seattle:

Yeah, I know, another romantic comedy. But, the late, great Nora Ephron wrote this movie, so you can see why I would choose it. Widower architect Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) is hoping to spend some romantic time with a woman he met while working. However, his son, Jonah (Ross Malinger), does not like the lady, and wants his dad to pursue the person who sent a nice letter to him after Jonah talked of Sam’s loneliness on a call-in radio show. However, Sam does not know this lady (Meg Ryan, who shows up in a lot of these types of films), and warns Jonah how dangerous a strange woman can be by pointing out the movie, Fatal Attraction. After Jonah reminds his father that he wouldn’t let his son watch it, Sam says, “Well I saw it and it scared the shit out of me. It scared the shit out of every man in America!”  I just think Sam’s line is funny, fierce, and sums up the the deep impact that cautionary film about marital infidelity made on men. Do you know where your pet rabbits are?

Cat Ballou:

Lee Marvin plays an alcoholic cowboy named Kid Sheleen who was once a notorious outlaw in this Old West comedy. He is hired by the the title character, played by Jane Fonda, to get revenge for her father’s death. Sheleen gets sober enough to help save the day, but reverts to his drunken ways by the end of the film. One of Cat’s friends, Jackson Two-Bears (Tom Nardini) sees Sheleen on his cross-legged horse, both of who appear intoxicated, leaning against a building. Jackson comments about Sheleen’s eyes, and the outlaw asks what’s wrong with them. Jackson says, “Well they’re red, bloodshot.” Sheleen’s slurred response is, “You ought to see ‘em from my side.” A very funny sort of reversal joke that I didn’t see coming. When Marvin accepted the Oscar for Best Actor, he said that part of the award belonged to the horse.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:

While on the topic of Western comedies, here is one of my favorites. It also addresses the theme of how progress can destroy those who no longer fit the current age. Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford) try to rob a train for the second time, but it is now equipped with a modern safe. Butch, ignorant of how to deal with this new security invention, asks for more explosives. The result is that the whole railway car gets blown up. As pieces fly everywhere, Sundance uses understatement to comical effect when he says, “Think ya’ used enough dynamite there, Butch?” Not only funny, but also sums up how the duo are out of touch with the new world which eventually pushes them out of the West to South America, where they meet their demise. I know the plot doesn’t sound funny, but if you have seen this movie you know there are plenty of humorous lines exchanged between Newman and Redford.

Unforgiven:

Well there’s not much that is funny in this revisionist Western from Clint Eastwood, which earned him Best Director and Best Picture Oscars. The notorious Will Munny (Eastwood) comes out of retirement after the death of his spouse, who reformed him, supposedly as a hired gun to get revenge for some prostitutes who had one of their co-workers disfigured by a client. However, the money for Munny becomes secondary, as the story shows a variety of violent men incapable of freeing themselves from their pasts. Except, there is a new young man who wants to become an outlaw, The Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvet), who has to face the horror of killing someone. Will tells him, “It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.” The words are plain, but they are powerful in summing up how death ends not only what someone is but it also denies all of a person’s possibilities for the future. The Kid tries to rationalize their lethal actions by using the cliche, “Yeah, well I guess they had it coming.” Will won’t let The Kid off the hook, as he says, “We all got it coming, kid.”

Fargo:

My favorite Coen Brothers film, that somehow manages to perfectly blend humor and violence in this tale of crime in one of the coldest parts of the country. Even though the weather conditions are harsh, and the bad guys commit gruesome acts of violence, the story holds out hope in the relationship between the characters of Marge (Frances McDormand, in her first Oscar-winning role), and her husband, Norm (John Carroll Lynch). She is the pregnant police chief, called early in the morning, to get on the case involving some murders on the road. Norm rises, too, to make sure his wife has her breakfast. The two say how they love each other, and then she walks out of the door to her police car. But, she comes back in the house and says, “Hon?” Norm answers with the oft repeated regional response, “Yah?”  Then she says, “Prowler needs a jump.” Her words deliver the right sound and economy that fits Marge’s world. But, beyond that, the exchange shows how these two, despite the frigid temperatures, and the crimes committed in cold blood (brought about in contrast by a family devoid of affection), are there for each other, ready to bring a new child into their heart-warming world.

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

Since we’re talking about the Coens, here’s another winner. George Clooney is great in this film about three guys who escape from a chain gang and embark on a variety of adventures, suggested by The Odyssey and The Wizard of Oz. Clooney’s character, Ulysses Everett McGill, has the gift of gab, and thinks he can talk his way out of any situation, but he can’t. The convicts’ car breaks down, and he needs a part that the local vendor says will take two weeks to arrive. He then also has no use for the hair gel that the store stocks, and wants his usual brand, Dapper Dan. The vendor says he can order it, but it will take two weeks. Everett, which is what he is called, says, “Well, ain’t this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!” The line exemplifies Everett’s way with words, and also shows that no matter how he tries, he usually winds up eventually saying, “Damn! We’re in a tight spot!”

Aliens:

Even in this sci-fi horror classic from James Cameron there is a pretty funny line. The Marines have entered the area of the complex where the amazingly lethal aliens have cocooned the human occupants. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has realized that the soldiers can’t fire any weapons because they might rupture the nuclear reactor beneath them. When the Marines are told they can’t use their weapons and they must hand in their loaded magazines, Private Frost (Ricco Ross) says, “What the hell are we supposed to use, man, harsh language?” It’s just a great example of gallows humor, since the only way to deal with a hopeless situation is to laugh about it.

Blade Runner:

Speaking of classic sci-fi movies, here’s another one, which, again, is primarily serious, yet still maintains a bit of humor. Here we have a future that has become dehumanized, in the sense that the real people show less empathy and elicit less sympathy from the audience then do the synthetic humans, known as Replicants. The rich and the genetically superior have escaped earth to live “off-world,” where Replicants are used as slaves, and this world has become a sort of futuristic ghetto. One character, Sebastian (William Sanderson), a genetic engineer, suffers from a condition which disqualified him from leaving the planet. His aging process is accelerated, a situation that he shares with the Replicants, who have a four year life span. Sebastian helped to make these androids, but he has also tainted them with the human limitation of a limited lifetime. In this dehumanized world, Sebastian, says, “I make friends.” This statement is a funny play on words, because he literally creates robotic toys to keep him company. They march around his apartment in an abandoned building, symbolic of the emptiness in his small world and the one at large.

The Dark Knight:

This movie is “dark” for a number of reasons, especially in the use of the character of the Joker, played by Heath Ledger (for which he won, sadly, a posthumous Best Supporting Actor Oscar). This nihilistic clown dispenses only sick comic touches as he murders and blows up stuff on his ride down anarchy road in Gotham City. In one scene he explains how he, supposedly, received the upturned scars on his face that produced his deformed smile. He says his father, who “was a drinker and a fiend,” came at him with a knife and said, “‘Why so serious?’” He sticks the blade in my mouth. ‘Let’s put a smile on that face.’” The “s” sounds come out like the hissing of a snake, adding to the almost Satan-like quality of this villain. The inversion of comedy into horror is done by subverting the idea of showing happiness with a grin through mutilation. It is very effective writing, and acting.

The Ruling Class:

This is a film most people have never heard of, which is a shame, because it is a devastating satire on the British class system. Jack (Peter O’Toole, in a no-holds-barred performance) is a member of the aristocracy who is crazy, thinking he is Jesus Christ. He even has a huge crucifix in his mansion, where he literally hangs out on occasion. When asked how does he know he is God, he answers, “Simple. When I pray to Him, I find I am talking to myself.” An irreverent, but funny line. The irony of the story is that in his benign Christ-like delusion he is rejected by his peers, but is later welcomed when he becomes a sinister character.

Manhattan:

Although quite intelligent, and a filmmaker who makes references in his films to great artists, Woody Allen, nevertheless, likes to poke fun at the his fellow New Yorkers for allowing their intellectual abilities to be undermined by over-thinking everything. In this movie, while at a party, Allen’s character of Isaac listens to a woman who says, “I finally had an orgasm, and my doctor said it was the wrong kind.”  Isaac’s rebuttal is, “You had the wrong kind? I’ve never had the wrong kind, ever. My worst one was right on the money.”

Isaac also mentions that there is going to be a rally by Nazis, and that they should do something about it. One party guest says there is a satirical piece about it in the New York Times that is “devastating.” Isaac questions how effective intellectual tools are in this situation when he says, “Well a satirical piece in the Times is one thing, but bricks and baseball bats really get right to the point.” Yes, violence begets violence, but one could understand his outrage at how detached the purely cerebral stance can be.

Grosse Pointe Blank:

In this dark comedy about a professional killer who is losing his taste for his profession, we have John Cusack’s Martin returning to his home town after ten years for a high school reunion, hoping to reconnect with the person he once was, and also his girlfriend, Debi (Minnie Driver), who he split on. He has a difficult time accomplishing his goal. He has a humorous exchange about his cat with Debi, after he refers to the animal as “it.” She says, “It. You don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl?” Martin’s response is, “I respect its privacy.” Funny, but also revealing, showing how Martin hasn’t been able to even have a close relationship with his pet.

He also feels frustrated that he can’t even see his old house, because it has been torn down, and a convenience store is now on the property. Martin, putting a twist on a famous phrase, says, “You can never go home again … but I guess you can shop there.”

At the end of the film, after some mayhem which involves the hilarious Dan Aykroyd, playing a hitman who wants to unionize assassins, Martin gets to drive off with Deb, who says in a prerecorded message on her radio show, “Some people say forgive and forget. I say forget about forgiving and just accept. And, … get the hell out of town.”

And that’s what I’m going to do now. The next film to be analyzed is Lifeboat.