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Stories   >   20 Things You Didn't Know About 'Arrival' / WhatCulture

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20 Things You Didn't Know About 'Arrival' / WhatCulture

Posted: November 28, 2022

Take a deep dive into a captivating story of language, time and first contact.

WhatCulture's DAVID NG'ETHE writes…Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of the short story ‘Story of Your Life’ by Ted Chiang is one of the filmmaker’s best cinematic efforts. Arrival features impressive visuals, an eerie yet beautiful score from the late Johann Johannsson, restrained yet impactful performances (especially from Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner), as well as a layered and watertight narrative that does not betray its source material's insightful tale.

The latter benefits from a more grounded exploration of how humanity would initiate first contact with extraterrestrial life and ignores the bombast typically found in this genre. Instead, it wisely focuses on the relationships between its human and alien characters and how they would shape both species' development.

Despite making several changes to the story told by Chiang, the film is still able to convey its themes, such as determinism, the unconventional nature of time and the power of communication/language in shaping one's perspectives.

Due to Arrival's complexity, it is likely that some of its components were missed by audiences on first viewing, and others have taken on a new dimension in the years since the cinematic adaptation’s release. From enlightening uses of words in different languages, to references to other sci-fi films, Arrival is packed with fascinating details that enhance viewers' appreciation of it.

It is common occurrence for some films to have a fair number of deleted scenes. Unfortunately, some scenes add much needed context to the stories and characters, and their exclusion works against the final cut’s comprehensibility. Arrival nearly joined the list of such films when Denis Villeneuve and editor Joe Walker almost left out a dream sequence that was key to the plot.

The scene featured Louise encountering a Heptapod in her trailer after a conversation with Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) and Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner). The sequence was almost cut for length purposes, but once the director and editor realized that this was the only scene with the mention of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis they attempted to salvage it and, in the process, gave it an unusual rhythm compared to the rest of the flick.

According to Walker, turning the moment into a dream sequence helped drive home the impact of the alien’s language on Louise as well as advanced her romance with Ian.

The Deutsche Grammophon album release of Arrival (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is Jóhann Jóhannsson third original film score for director Denis Villeneuve and his second release on the Yellow Label. The Icelandic composer's DG debut Orphée, was an exploration of the Orpheus myth and Jóhannsson's first studio album in six years. The Paramount Pictures film Arrival, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, is the composer's third cinematic collaboration with French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, following on from last year's crime thriller Sicario, which garnered Jóhannsson an Oscar nomination for best original score. As recently announced, their next joint project will be the much anticipated sequel to the legendary science fiction film Blade Runner.

Arrival stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker. Adams plays the lead role of a linguist who attempts to communicate with the alien intelligence controlling a fleet of spacecraft that has suddenly and ominously appeared at sites all around the globe. As mankind teeters on the brink of global war, she and her team embark on a race against time to find out why these craft have come to earth. More than a conventional sci-fi thriller, this is a thoughtful, intellectual drama with a genre twist. "Arrival is a very unique science fiction film and I decided early on that the human voice would feature prominently in the score," says Jóhannsson. "It seemed a natural choice, given that the story is very much about language and communication."

Jóhannsson worked with several singers and vocal ensembles and combined both classical and avant-garde elements in his compositions, augmenting his already unique approach of combining orchestral writing with digital sound processing. Among those appearing are the prestigious Theatre of Voices, conducted by Paul Hillier, and artists such as Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe and Hildur Guðnadóttir, known for their unique musicianship. Jóhannsson also integrated some "found sounds" from the legendary avant-garde vocalist Joan La Barbara into his score. The soundtrack was recorded in Prague, Copenhagen and his native Reykjavik.

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