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Arrival (15) + Presentation by Caroline Newton

Science on Screen

Amy Adams in Arrival

A linguist (Amy Adams) works with the US military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.

Before Dune (2021) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Denis Villeneuve directed this modern sci-fi classic, populated by long takes, a muted colour palette and an eerie, otherworldly score. The film is ground-breaking, pushing boundaries and creating a visual language all of its own. Cutting to the core of grief and the human condition, the film leans into the eternal question, ‘is it better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all?’

Before the film, clinical linguist at University College London Caroline Newton discusses the relationship between language and thought, and what the implications might be for people who have a language disorder, such as: does the language you speak influence how you perceive the world? How do language disorders influence thinking? And if you can’t speak about numbers, can you do maths?

Tagged with: Cinema Science on Screen

US/Canada Dir Denis Villeneuve 116 min

LML

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