Director Denis Villeneuve’s ‘ARRIVAL’ trailer asks #WhyAreTheyHere

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if aliens landed on Earth? What would they think of us? What would we think of them? This is a common thought as this has long been a solid premise for sci-fi films since 1951’s THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL – and maybe even before that in radio serials (like THE WAR OF THE WORLDS in 1938, which caused a mass panic when it premiered). The latest (and maybe greatest) addition to the genre is director Denis Villeneuve’s ARRIVAL.

The film – written by one of my favorite screenwriters, Eric Heisserer, and based on a short story by Ted Chiang – tells the story of an expert linguist (Amy Adams) hired to make contact when a mysterious spacecraft touches down on Earth. As more crafts appear all over the world, a race against the clock ensues to discover what exactly “they” want from us. Take a look:

The film also stars Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker and Michael Stuhlbarg. And I’ll be damned if this isn’t the film to see this fall.

ARRIVAL arrives in theaters on November 11 – unless you’re one of the lucky ones catching it at TIFF next month. Then just know I’m super jealous of you.