I've never in my life seen a movie in the theatre twice in two weeks. Until now . I saw Arrival alone, as my wife is not into science fiction that much. But after I saw it, I knew she had to see it, so then I took her. I understood even more seeing it again, as it is a very cerebral movie and it's easy to miss things the first time.
From the initial strains of the haunting theme music , to the end of that same theme at the close of the film, one traverses a strange and yet familiar landscape. The land, the people, how we act as humans, is all familiar. The aliens, their language, and what the movie does to our concept of time, are all completely strange. Even given all of this, this is the first alien movie I've seen where the movie isn't about the aliens, but us .
It turns out that the aliens need us. They need us so badly that they are willing to put up with our bullshit long enough to save us from ourselves. Now that's a plot I can get behind, especially today.