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Have you seen District 9?

Posted by SweetViolet • 9/11/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: aliens, district 9, johannesburg, movies, south africa

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!

Hubby and I went to see District 9 today. What a movie! An allegory cleverly disguised as a first-rate action yarn!

As we discussed it over lunch, it occurred to me that a lot of people who haven't spent time in South Africa might not get a lot of the subtext...like choosing "van der Merwe" (pronounced "fanderMAIRvuh") as the surname for the protagonist. Or the fact that the alien encampment wasn't a movie set.

Have you seen District 9 or do you plan to see it? If you've seen it, were there things about it that you didn't understand or seemed to be unrealistic (aside from the aliens, of course)? Do you understand the historical reference in the name of the film?

What did you think of the movie and would you recommend it to others?

User Comments

9/11/09

PetLvr

You can watch it for free on the internet (where I watched it) but, when the aliens were talking it was subtitled in Russian ~ I'll have to see it again when it comes out to Movie Central.

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1. 9/11/09
  
  dbowles1017
  
  The video is Russian. Then they overlap the audio with English. For some reason the Russians usually have a better video. There is one with English subs for the aliens out there
2. 9/11/09
  
  SweetViolet
  
  This is one of those movies that is best to watch on a B I G screen. The magnitude of it needs a large screen to suck you in.
  
  Spend the bucks...see it in the theatre...it's worth it!
9/11/09

cuteptaguy

I really want to go see it, but I have been to busy. Watched the trailer on youtube and from what I saw we as South Africans should be really proud. It's sure to included in the USA movie awards season.

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1. 9/11/09
  
  SweetViolet
  
  My husband is South African and he was positively chuffed!!
  
  Make the time to go...Hubby's car had to go in for service today so we spent the day at a nearby mall and it had a theatre...it was worth every cent and every minute.
  
  Aside from the fact that South Africans have every right to be proud of this endeavour, it was a damned good movie!
9/11/09

owlbarn

I haven't seen the movie but I so want to watch it. I think the poster (alien on the target poster)is really fetching.

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9/11/09

dbowles1017

I liked the movie. Probably one of the better ones of the summer. I recommend it to anyone

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1. 9/12/09
  
  SweetViolet
  
  Yah, me too.
9/12/09

Hetro

please tell me about the link of download the movie but in HD quality any body know???

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9/12/09

idealpinkrose

I saw the trailer and I think it's really good. I'm expecting to see it when the dvd released. I don't like going to the movies specially now that the influenza is very active here.

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1. 9/12/09
  
  SweetViolet
  
  You'll miss much of the impact of the film on a TV screen.
  
  It really needs to be seen on a B I G screen, like in a theatre.
  
  Hubby and I don't like crowds so we go to the theatre when attendance is low...weeknights or midday in the middle of the week. We saw it yesterday in a very popular South African mall...a place ordinarily teeming with people. There were 5 people in the theatre, including us...plenty of room to spread out and avoid contact with others. We went to the 11:45 am showing.
2. 9/14/09
  
  idealpinkrose
  
  My hubby and I likes watching movies but we don't like going to the movie theaters so we bought a big screen tv and a home theater. The sound is great and you really feel like in the movie theater. It's more fun and more comfortable to watch at home.
  
  It's true that there aren't many people in the morning at the movie theater. I watched a movie in the morning when we went to Vietnam.
3. 9/14/09
  
  jafabrit
  
  I think we will get the same effect with the movie theatre on our tv too. We have surround sound with a woofer (I think that's what its called) and a big screen. I do love going to the cinema though, there is something magical about it for me.
9/12/09

celticmusicfan

I saw it on the big screen. Anything by Peter Jackson-i have such huge respect for the man and I don't want to miss the experience in seeing his production on big screen-is surely a must-see.Anyway the film made me cry. Before the first half of the film it made me say-blast the humans.

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9/12/09

praning5254

I'm about to watch it later tonight...I think it was based on a video or online gme of sort...it received good reviews from various blogs that I've read...

Is the plot really that chaotic?

[reply]
1. 9/12/09
  
  SweetViolet
  
  It's based on real life in South Africa during the apartheid era. The "set" of the alien encampment is a REAL black township in which people lived until just before the movie was made. The huge white trucks ("caspers") are real and the South African police used them as demonstrated in the movie...and those things are still in use today.
  
  Depends on how you define "chaotic."
  
  South Africans who see the movie will inevitably be reminded of what life here was like pre-1994. And, to a lesser extent, what many of the people are like here even today...it is very much an allegory masterfully disguised as a top-notch sci-fi action flick.
2. 9/12/09
  
  celticmusicfan
  
  I wont divulge on the detail but i think the hospital scene was really disturbing. actually it is like here too.
9/12/09

writings

thanks i will see the movie if i can.

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1. 9/12/09
  
  uniqueiturk
  
  comment removed by the community.
9/14/09

jafabrit

"it is very much an allegory masterfully disguised as a top-notch sci-fi action flick."

I agree, it was excellent, and a refreshingly different approach from the usual science fiction movies.

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9/14/09

footiam

Yes. Enjoy the movie but don't know about the historical reference etc. Don't know much about South Africa, i.e

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9/14/09

gosmelltheflowers

Not seen it yet but will do - thanks for the heads up!

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9/14/09

AncientAliens

I want to see it, but havn't yet. Still, I made my avatar after the aliens from the movie.

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1. 9/14/09
  
  celticmusicfan
  
  OMG! Your avatar reminds me...never mind.
9/14/09

LolitaV

i loved it. Christopher Johnson is the parent i aspire to be.

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1. 9/14/09
  
  R1VERT1LT
  
  Its not an amazing movie, but it gets your attention. I like the whole concept behind it.
9/14/09

Theresa111

I tried because I love SiFi, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

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