District 9 - 2009
TriStar/Wingnut Films - 112 min.
DVD UPC 043396275140; 043396332348; 043396292260; 043396292260(Blu-ray); 5050629576016(Blu-ray)
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka, Kenneth Nkosi, Eugene Khumbanyiwa, Louis Minnaar, William Allen Young.
Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell; Director of Photography: Trent Opaloch; Original Music: Clinton Shorter; Editing: Julian Clarke; Production Designer: Philip Ivey; Art Direction: Emilia Roux; Special Effects Coordinator: David Barkes; Visual Effects Supervisor: Matt Aitken; Producers: Carolynne Cunningham, Peter Jackson;
Director: Neill Blomkamp
In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled human-sized insect-like alien population appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to forcibly evict the population to a new location outside of Johannesburg. That is the basic setup of this well presented, black-humoured, sci-fi film that is an obvious commentary on Apartheid and the present day South African problems with Zimbabwe refugees. But it is much more, and the presentation technique is quite captivating, utilizing a mock-documentary "you-are-there" style. Highly Recommended.
Censor Rating: R - Review rating: A-
