District 9 is is like a suburb or a ghetto or a slum in which aliens have been kept for the past 20 years in a far land called South Africa in an obscure place called Johannesburg. Humans call these aliens 'the prawns' due to their peculiar shape. This interesting documentary shows the evolution of the tensions and administrative measures to keep the aliens from interacting with humans after the excitement of welcoming them had faded. In a last resort to counter popular anger the authorities decide to remove all the aliens and to put them in the middle of nowhere 200 kilometers from the city. The human hero, Wikus van der Merve is leading the eviction process and visits paper-made houses to give the eviction letter to every 'prawn' family. A series of events happen and eventually Wikus becomes half human half prawn after being in contact with some strange liquid. Eventually he becomes one of their own and helps them to become free.
I confess I was skeptical of this movie after seeing the trailer which seemed dodgy. But the good reviews brought me to the movies anyway. I was surprised to see a sold out theatre in a cold tuesday night and the reason became clear. The movie is really good, the plot worked for me and the fast pace would not bore anybody even though some scenes were so dodgy I had to laugh. Despite the science fiction nature of the movie, there are many interesting messages about culture and human nature hidden within the story.
I give 4 out of 5. You need to see to believe.
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