The following contains mild spoilers forArrival.
Alien invaders arrived in their saucers, raining down great waves of death and destruction.
Not all sci-fi movies of the 1950s looked to the sky in terror, however.
Are they harmless or are they weapons of war?
Are their occupants invaders or benign?
But viewed in light of recent events,Arrivalalso offers an impassioned message of hope.
In its opening half an hour,Arrivalintroduces a chasm that seems impossible to cross.
I know there is much we can learn from each other, the President says.
If we can negotiate a truce, we can find a way to co-exist.
Can there be a peace between us?
What is it you want us to do?
Die, says the alien.
The threat of terrorism, economic uncertainty and deep political rifts are common headline news.
Old rivalries between east and west also appear to bereopening, this time thanks to the spectre of cyberwarfare.
Arrival serves as a timely counterpoint to all that.
Its these qualities that help bridge the divide, creating unity out of confrontation and hope out of fear.
These are themes that co-star Jeremy Renner agrees are readily found in the movie.
The huge terror and fear that come up because of that.
By listening rather than yelling, by learning rather than fighting, we can all move forward.
We can all be better.
