District 9

I went to see District 9 this evening (taking advantage of the comp tickets my housemate can get for the local cinema). It's Tagline is 'You are not welcome here', and it's not the initial alien/horror film I initially thought it would be, having seen all the posters over phone boxes for the last few months.

Warning! Some plot spoiler below...

Set in Johannesburg, aliens have come to earth and been ghettoised into a slum for the last 20 years. A government agent sent to evict and re-house the aliens into a slum further from the city is accidentally 'infected' by alien fluid, and slowly starts to become like them.

The film looks at many social issues, and Wikipedia states that the film was inspired from historical events during the South African apartheid.

It's thought-provoking and interesting to see how the main character - who I initially thought was a p***k - changes as changes to become like them. From being prejudiced - and quite brutal - towards them, he starts to genuinely care for the two alien characters, and risks his own life to save theirs.

It's a hard watch, and very violent: maybe I'm getting old, but I was surprised it was only rated a 15. But very thought-provoking.

It reminds me of the quote given at church this morning, from a teenage girl who had become a Christian talking about those who lived near here:

"You see someone you thought was rubbish and realise they're precious."

The film makes you think about how we treat people, people who are different from us, the alien amongst us; betrayal; friendship and respect; morality.

Just because they were human, were they any better than the 'prawns'?