I have rarely seen a cooler preview than the trailer for District 9.  A military officer interrogates an alien, peppering it with questions about why they are on our planet, if they mean us harm, and how their weapons work.  The alien simply says that they didn’t mean to land on Earth, we’re holding them here, and they just want  to go home.  It’s a novel idea: aliens come to Earth and want absolutely nothing to do with us.

The film is shown mostly  through news footage, security clips, and home videos.  So yes, that translates into shaky camera for those of you with weak stomachs.  Basically, the film centers around a slum in which the aliens (given the derogatory term “prawns”) have resided for the past twenty years.  After landing in Johannesburg, the humans in town have grown tired of dealing with the aliens and have convinced the local government to relocate the slums far outside of the city.

Through interviews with various historians, economists, and journalists, you get a foreshadowing of horrible events to come.  Sharlto Copley is Wikus Van Der Werwe, the agent placed in charge of the relocation operation, who watches his plan spin quickly out of control.  The aliens have endured years of terrible treatment and though most happily sign their eviction papers, there are still a few aliens (including Christopher and his son) who are intent on going home and have been trying to do so for two decades

This movie was so shocking in it’s stark brutality.  Made as a statement on apartheid, the elements of hate and ignorance are amplified and combine with the violence shown throughout made the film a bit hard to watch.  There were touching moments, just not enough of them for this ever to be a happy movie.  All the same, I really liked this movie.  I enjoyed the ending, leaving just enough questions unanswered to keep you wondering.

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