Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.

Not since Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Solaris” have I been as moved by a science fiction film as I was by Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival.” What both films understand so well is that our urge to communicate with extraterrestrial life is actually about processing the mystery of life and death, loss and love. Amy Adams is haunting as a linguistics professor who decodes the reason aliens have landed on Earth by learning their language, a knowledge that necessitates a shattering decision in her own life. The film builds to a massive emotional payoff we should see coming but don’t. This is a profound meditation on the human need for connection.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.