Introduction
Films are a way of using lies to portray a story because the plot is usually fiction, and actors pretend to be someone they are not. This paper will focus on the 2016 film “Arrival” and, in particular, on the ending scenes of this movie. “Arrival” is a fascinating example of deception in the film as the plot is based on a fictitious story, and the director masterfully deceives the audience into believing that the past scenes are actually the future of the main characters.
Discussion
The past, the present, and the future are the three separate parts of time as traditionally understood. In this particular concept, the past is viewed as being fixed, although the present and the future are both thought to be subject to change due to one’s personal choices. Since one constantly encounters the present with our senses as humans, people have a tendency to think of it as reality. But Villeneuve’s “Arrival” offers a very different perspective on how time works, one in which the past, present, and future are all coherently present since there is no actual reality here in this film.
During the ending scenes of “Arrival,” the audience is finally informed that the scenes involving Hannah and Louise are actually from the future and not the past. They also reveal that in the future, Ian is Hannah’s father in the closing monologue of “Arrival.” This merely indicates that Louise has imagined a scenario in which she and Ian fall in love and have a child. She is also aware that her daughter will contract terminal cancer. She is aware of the suffering caused by this. She nevertheless decides to have Hannah. However, Louise may choose to hide such information from Ian. It is already too late when Louise informs Ian about cancer and says that Hannah will pass away one day.
When Ian learns the truth, he finds it impossible to pardon Louise for having a child while fully anticipating her early death from cancer. You can hear Louise remark that Hannah’s father leaving was her fault in one of the future visions. Evidently, Ian learns of the girl’s imminent cancer and, unable to cope with it, separates his relationship with Louise. The last moments of the “Arrival” film depict Louise’s acceptance and embrace of the future that lies before her.
Arrival by Denis Villeneuve ends with Louise Banks and Ian Donnelly watching in wonder as the aliens disappear into space, leaving behind their “weapon” for Earth to use to save the aliens when they require assistance in 3,000 years. Louise and Ian spend some quiet time together while gazing up at the sky. She asks Ian if he would make any changes to his life if he could see it all from beginning to end. Before telling Louise that he was more in awe of her than the aliens, he responds by adding that he would express his feelings more frequently. More glimmers from the far future appear in between their discourse, adding to the tenderness of the situation.
The viewer usually realizes at this point that their tale has already been told. Before Ian even realizes he is in love with Louise, we have already witnessed their marriage, the birth of their child, and the end symbolized by the impending death. The conclusion is not really a true conclusion but rather a new point in Louise’s life that is interconnected with earlier and later times. When the viewer reaches a conclusion, they are simultaneously viewing the start and the end of two parallel stories. The side plot that plays concurrently with the main plot focuses on Hannah, Louise’s daughter. It takes the spectator the majority of the movie to realize that these two tales are concurrent, but Louise is able to grasp this because she is able to accept the alien’s language and the customs built around it. Louise is able to perceive and be present simultaneously in the past, present, and past.
The science-fiction drama “Arrival” is a complicated adaptation of Ted Chian’s Story of Your Life, a novella published in 1998. By connecting minor, seemingly unimportant moments together, the movie cleverly combines moments from the past, present, and future into a single timeline. Many science fiction films make an effort to play with the notion of time and how it is perceived, but none achieves the level of success that Arrival does by utilizing the Sapir-Whorf concept of linguistic relativity.
Conclusion
In summary, there is no true reality in “Arrival,” therefore the past, present, and future are all coherently present. This provides a radically different viewpoint on how time functions. The viewer is expertly duped by the director into thinking that the past sequences represent the main protagonists’ genuine future. The novella Story of Your Life by Ted Chian, which was released in 1998, is the basis for the film Arrival. A single timeline is created in the film by deftly fusing events from the past, present, and future. Multiple timelines are created using the Sapir-Whorf concept of linguistic relativity.
Work Cited
Arrival. Dir. Denis Villeneuve. Film Nation Enterteinment, 2016.