District 9
Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
Produced by Peter Jackson
Starring Sharlto Copley
Key Creatives, 2009. 112 minutes.

District 9 has taken the American box office by storm.  The film depicts the arrival of aliens in the unlikely locale of Johannesburg, South Africa.  Establishing contact with alien life forms in the movies is never as simple as we'd like it to be.   

But this picture moves beyond a B sci-fi flick with some penetrating social commentary.  At times satirical and other times allegorical, the story skillfully interweaves the history and culture of South Africa with mecha-robots and spaceships. 

The vagaries of the film industry have resulted in the film being released in...