There is an interesting new sci-fi film gaining buzz on the internet called District 9. The premiss is fairly simple, it's about a fictional world where extraterrestrials have become refugees in South Africa. They live in District 9 which is a slum. It's not particularly subtle in the point it's making, Johannesburg > South Africa > apartheid > xenophobia. That's about as subtle as an alien bursting from your chest.
Yet from the trailer the way it's been filmed i.e like a documentary really draws you in. The "monsters" are clearly being used as prisms to reflect our bigotries and phobias back at us. The film has a website, where you can watch some of the interviews with people, as you can imagine the things being said are remarkably familiar - "How much money is being spent keeping these non humans in District 9?", "I don't want my tax money going to non-humans".
Sci-fi is at it's best when it takes what's in front of our eyes and twists it to reflect our world in another, in doing so it shows us something about human nature, our weaknesses, strengths and phobias. This film looks like it could be brilliant or utterly pants, I'm hoping for the former.
It's release date in the UK is September 4th.
Update - There are some clips and other trailers on Apple's website, the eviction one is particularity good.
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