Very disappointing. Half science-fiction and half political allegory about racism, it fails to have an impact, largely because its points are rather obvious (yes, we know that the aliens are supposed to stand for South African blacks, but so what ?). And unlike "Avatar", which at least has the courage of its "green PC" convictions, this film is so confusing politically, it's almost impossible to say whether its cynicism makes it borderline racist or its stupidity makes it just plain embarassing. It has been widely praised by film critics, but none of them was ever able to explain what's supposed to be so special about this confusing mess.
January 1, 2009
District 9 (2009) *
Very disappointing. Half science-fiction and half political allegory about racism, it fails to have an impact, largely because its points are rather obvious (yes, we know that the aliens are supposed to stand for South African blacks, but so what ?). And unlike "Avatar", which at least has the courage of its "green PC" convictions, this film is so confusing politically, it's almost impossible to say whether its cynicism makes it borderline racist or its stupidity makes it just plain embarassing. It has been widely praised by film critics, but none of them was ever able to explain what's supposed to be so special about this confusing mess.
