This was actually my second time watching the movie Arrival, and it felt much better than the first time I watched it.

Sitting in a dark dining hall, the ambiance of the atmosphere deepens my immersion of the aliens. The woob woob sounds as the heptapods Abbott and Costello dart into the screen instill in me a sense of wonder as well as fear at the same time. Watching it as just an individual without even thinking about the consequences of what these aliens are to humanity as well as international relation is already overwhelming, trying to imagine those scientists, soldiers, politicians figuring out what to do with them is just mind blowing.

Like most catastrophe, if it can even be called that, the focus of the movie is less on the creatures themselves, but rather the human interpersonal relations. The first time through, I watched it on my phone, but I simply cannot feel the same charm as I did on the bigger screen. The emotions through the intersecting narrative wasn’t exactly Momento in terms of nonlinear structure, but instead gives the story a heartfelt sentiment. The scene when Louise sprinted with the phone to call the Chinese general as the future self tells her what to say in the present gave me chills because it just felt so emotional and intense. There were so many save the world plots in different stories, but I really enjoyed this one.

The movie was very intriguing although it is a little hard to understand and definitely warrants multiple viewings.