I saw this with my wife in the theater. We decided we wanted to see something light-hearted and fun. It was the first date-night we had since the birth of our first child, you see. So science fiction seemed like just the ticket. We both loved the movie, but we were bawling our eyes out in the opening sequence.

i believe this is one of the most satisfying/genuine reaction i've ever seen for this movie. it's not that i love watching people cry for my enjoyment that's psychopathic but i enjoy seeing people moved by the a great movie. it captured the essence of a mother's love, of humanity and how important time is not to mention the beautiful soundtrack this is on my top 5 sci-fi movies of all time thank you for reacting to it i'm glad i stumbled upon your channel 🙌❤️

Director Villeneuve wanted to leave the line to General Shang ambiguous but the screenwriter Heisserer said the wife's last words would be "In war there are no winners, only widows."

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The reveal is absolutely incredible. Even if it’s not your first time seeing it… Even if you know it’s coming in advance… Watching all the pieces click into place never fails to send shivers down my spine. It’s as if for a moment, I’m witnessing that scene unfold onscreen for the first time in my life, the last time in my life, and every other instance in between when I have rewatched (or will eventually rewatch again) this movie across my entire life ;)

"Once you know your child you can never imagine the future without your child" - you gave the best explanation I've ever heard about this movie.

I have watched this movie probably 15 times and I still ugly cry at that ending every single time. Fun fact: Max Richter didn't want to give the rights to "The Nature of Daylight" because he felt it had been overused in movies. Denis Villaneuve flew out to see him and explain personally how important it was to the story and how it would be used so he could convince Richter. So damn powerful and perfect.

I hope people realize this film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. And, in my mind, it should have won at least 5 of them instead of just one. As a "science fiction" film it ranks - to me - as among the finest films I have seen. And it betrays the stereotypical Hollywood nonsense that often passes as "science fiction" when those films really are just "Monsters of the week." Arrival is damn good. And if you have a sympathetic bone in your body, you might think likewise.

Don't think I've ever watched this without ending up in a puddle of tears

I have a theory. There's a point where she says she can read the language now. At that moment, she flashes on her teaching it and having published a book on it. I think at that moment the language 'arrived' complete in her. It may be why the story is called "Arrival". 'Weapon' is an inaccurate term for what the heptapods are giving, but it works. And it explains why the language needs to be given globally. It becomes a weapon if only one group (person, people, nation) receives it. If you can foretell how others will act/react, then you can sidestep actions and engage in actions the other side won't see coming. You could exploit that. In global politics, that ability is a weapon. But if everyone can foresee, then everyone is on the same level. The heptapods know/knew/have known/will know all this. And knowing all this beforehand, they know how to teach the language, who to direct teaching to, know there's a bomb, know to be prudent and move the ship away from reach. Abbott knew he would attain Death Process. When you can track what's happening, there's no disappointed expectation, no betrayal, so no need to retaliate. They would never think to retaliate. It strikes me that, if you know what's going to happen, life still isn't dull. It just means you gravitate towards inhabiting the more pleasant moments of your existence. Because why would you spend much time with the unpleasant ones? Other than the satisfaction of seeing how it leads to good results? Seems like a meditative existence. There's a lot of acceptance, because there's really no changing anything. (Compare to the film "Groundhog Day".)

One of my favorite little moments in this film is we are introduced to the fact there's a satellite phone and General Shang at the same moment. You hear them talking about the General while the CIA agent pulls out the sat phone to use. A cool set up to foreshadow Louise using the phone to call the General to get them to all talk. I've lost count of how many times I've watched this film. It's one of my all time favorites.

“In war there are no winners, only widows” General Shang’s wife’s dying words.

"In war there are no winners, only widows." The dying words she told the Chinese leader.

kay Na. gotta say, your thought flow during this movie was simply amazing. You figured out the non-linear premise of the movie so early on. I was just laughing the entire time in anticipation of you getting to the end of the movie and finding out that your premonitions were spot on. YOur mind is amazing, it was a privilege to let us into your thought pattern. I think this is why your reactions are so fun and next level. Keep up the great work.

Arrival is one of, if not THE best Sci-Fi films I have ever seen. It still amazes me how quickly the filmmakers could make us feel emotions so early on, just thru images and that amazing score. I still need a tissue at the beginning and end of this movie. And it is so satisfying to watch the pieces come together as they break down language. It has so many parts that give me goosebumps because of how excellently things were written, developed, and produced. It came together in near perfection. I'm left in awe after every viewing or reaction.

I just love how by unlocking some basic language structure via analyzing patterns they're able to figure the language out exponentially faster with each conversation

I'm so grateful when I see reactions to this film. Beautiful, smart and above all, moving. Your reaction was so genuine and vulnerable. Thank you. Subscribed.

The opening song "On The Nature Of Daylight" by Max Richter is the thing I noticed the moment immediately. I knew the first time I watched the movie that this was going to be an emotional movie. The song is filled with so much sadness. But there is still some happiness lingering. It was as if the song was nostalgic, yet lonely. It felt like "I'm sorry" but "Remember how simple life was before everything?"

Of all the reactions to this film out there, and you foresaw so much of what was to come. The depth of the writing, the ingenious editing, the purposeful imagery with cinematography and succinct dialogue. This movie still lingers with me in so many ways since I saw it in the theater in 2016. I was fortunate to meet the film’s cinematographer Bradford Young in 2022 (he's the first African American cinematographer to be nominated for an Academy Award in this category for his work in "Arrival"), and I got to tell him how much this film and its intelligence and breadth in visuals affected me.

its about the "Arrival" of the new life (the aliens), but also the "Arrival" of the new life (her daughter).

Pretty damn impressed that at 17:00 you said "is it all one, past present future?" -- well before the reveal.

Thank you for reacting, with true emotion, to this phenomenal movie, and congratulations for picking up on the past-present-future theme early enough to make some good guesses, even if the big reveal still hit you like a ton of bricks.

you're one of the more chill reaction channels i've found. keep it up :)

It's an extra-terrestrial alien movie about humanity. A sci-fi drama movie about humanity. So unique. So different. So frickin' good!!

I haven't watched this since I saw it in the theaters even though it's one of my favorite movies of all time. I always think it would just be too hard to watch from the beginning knowing how it all works and now only just watching your video here I'm typing this through the tears pouring from my face to say that it was great watching a reactor get it and really feel the beauty of this work of art. Ugh, so great. Thank you for sharing this with us and putting yourself out there like this.

Arrival is one of my favourite sci fi movies. Thanks for choosing it. I’ve been watching different channels react to it, And one thing I was hoping someone would comment on was - How on earth did they get back down after being in the ship? Do they jump down to the platform and hope they don’t miss?🤔

Great reaction to an intelligent and moving film that instantly became one of my favourites! I'm absolutely convinced that language affects how we think and behave. That also includes what specific words we choose to use and what associations we've got to those words. The author Philip K. Dick once wrote: _"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.”_ First time visitor here, but you've got yourself a new sub!

Well... humans developed language long before they became city-builders. So depending on what your definition of "civilization" is... if it means when people started to live together in large numbers and form nations, the difference was the technology that allowed people to specialize instead of everyone having to work full time as hunter-gatherers or farmers.

20:45 Yes. This is one of the most beautiful and sad movies to watch. I will actually use the term: "Wonderful" ♥

I literally get full body chills each time I see a reactor who gets that Epiphany moment in this film and yours was the best ever.

Ultimately, time is a human construct and doesn't actually exist. We humans pigeonhole our events to keep them in our linear thought patterns. But any ET will consider this meaningless because time has no real concept, it is an abstract concept that is used by us to keep things ordered in our minds. Amy was seeing her future in short events with a child she didn't know, but will know, despite she knew her child will die, despite the father of that child will be the mathematician she just met.

The thoughtful movies are great to push the emotions. But I think naturally then the movies swing to all different genres you will find the recommendations 😄 Thank you for the video very well done!

this is perhaps my favorite movie of all time. I'm glad you watched it and shared the experience. I first saw this movie with my wife at the theater. When it was over, we drove home in complete silence and then didn't talk for at least a half hour after we got home. It was a movie we just wanted to process for a while.

Coal miners used canaries to tell if there was a build up of dangerous gasses. The canary would die and they get out of the mine

Nia, "This movie is cheerie, I don't have to worry much. Good happy music to start. Maybe I was worried too much." K2da_G, "HAAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHa. little do you know what you have in store Nia? Little do you know?"

One of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen.

I watched this in the theater and by the ending I was in silent tears. Fantastic Film and thank you for your reaction.

The thing here about time in this movie is that Louise is able to see time as if time was a line drawn on a sheet of paper. If time was a line drawn on that sheet we could see the beginning and the end, past and future. Bring it up one dimension and we’re “in” the “sheet of paper”. Heptapods have the ability to see time the same way we would on a sheet of paper, the whole “Story of your life”.

It is so beautiful that I have seen it at least twenty times and I keep looking at it whenever I come across it. And I have to thank you reactors for making me relive the first time I saw it and the emotions it aroused in me, thanks to your watching it. Sorry if my English is a bit strange, but my language is Italian

Well done, amazing reaction! Yeah you crushed this one on the time thing. It's such a good film. Makes me weep every time.

Nia, you rambling and spitting out theories trying to figure out whats going is hilariously amazing. haha great reaction

i love arrival because it's an extremely compelling scifi movie but also at it's core it's a LOVE STORY!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!

Love this film, it’s one that goes under the radar, the concept of language being able to expand the mental capacity in species is fascinating. love your reaction and allll the theories you threw out there, you were all of us on the first watch 😂

This movie lands on determinism in the free will vs determinism debate. She's living her life out of order from this time. Her timeline jumps around and she's informed by the present and the past and the future.

I have been learning Japanese for awhile, now. Complications come up in translations from Japanese to "proper English" and vice versa. An example is a title from a Ghibli film, we translated as 'Whisper of the Heart' from a much simpler and better title of 'Heart Whispers.' Understanding how sentences are built is critical to the eventual meaning, and have to be built correctly in both cases. I have been enjoying this part of my learning; spoken words of spoken images.

Yeah Ian (the physicist) broke up with her after he figured out she knew the whole time that they were going to have a child who dies young from a disease. It's a weird thought experiment, would you still have a child knowing damn well it will cause you pain and sorrow. I love this scifi movie because it's secretly a tragic love story.

This one made me subscribe. You feel things in a lovely way.

3:25 don't say "... to start looting and stuff." say "... to start looting." 🙂👍🏼

Before electronic sensors were invented to detect poison gasses small birds like canaries were very commonly used in mines because they would succumb to the poison gas before humans would

That’s why Ian says it’s science. Even if we consider math as a language, the “things” math portrays are the same, regardless of the units you choose or the planet you come from. Hydrogen times Pi, like Ellie says in “Contact”.

Beautiful reaction too a beautiful movie! This movie helps me determine if a reactor is good or not. If tears are shed, then I know they're reacting with heart and soul. If not, then it's all about attention seeking. Seems to work so far and I honestly love watching this over and over to meet new reactors, so it's a win-win situation! :D

luv that you understand the movie and luv your reaction hun x

28:05 🤣🤣 never heard that before. love the channel. i'm wishing you all the success, looking forward to upgrading that sd card 🙃👍🏼

2:42 i think we can all thank max richter's on the nature of daylight for that

That movie blew my fuckin mind 😂😂😂

Time for both Louise and the aliens is not linear

I love the movie! The USA is not the only country in the film where UFOs have been approached, so there is hope that a spin-off drama will be produced. Greeting from Japan.

19:48 you were going deep... past present future deep deep... then tv shows 🤣😇

Man it’s so weird that I got sad when Costello told her that Abbott died. It’s crazy also to know that she was the chosen one the entire time. Obviously she has the gift of being able to communicate with them and using their language as they see it. They knew the whole time that they needed to find her in order for humanity to unlock what they were trying to give them. The same way she was seeing her own future, they were seeing there’s and knew she was the key to helping them 3000 years later

Dennis Villeneuve is the only one that I would trust adapting Tolkien and Sanderson work, I love every single movie he has directed

Best reaction to _Arrival_ I’ve seen. Such a mind blowing film.

One of my favorite movies. Nia you need to watch Hacksaw Ridge.

What an awesome reaction.

Wonderful commentary for a wonderful movie.

You should also read the story it's based on by Ted Chiang, called 'Story of your Life'. I read it after seeing the movie so knew where it was heading but still really enjoyed it. It has more scientific detail than the movie, although don't get me wrong, I applaud this film for not 'dumbing things down" too much. Both the written story and the film have their pros and cons, it's all worth it. His other stories are really good too. (I can see 'Tower of Babel', and 'Understand' easily being turned in to films.)

I cry thru the whole movie! Your not alone. Lol

She is one of the most amazing characters I've ever seen. I see this film as a stunning rebuke of another emotionally deep sci-fi film which shall remain nameless (because I have no interest in arguing with its fans). That film is essentially a cascade of human failure, and short-comings. This film is as well for almost everyone else, but not for her. She is the brilliant, wise, and rational hope for all of humanity. And it's not even really that she has a super-power, and can see the future. It's that while everyone else is frantically giving in to their worst impulses, she is remaining ceaselessly loyal to humanity's best impulses.

She figured it out before the reveal, impressive.

A reactor that's both smart and empathetic? Subscribed.

One of my most beloved movies of all time. I'm very happy now

Hi you did great reacting to one of my fav sci-fi movie..

I heard of this movie when it was in the theaters. However, it has NOT shown up on "Premium" cable TV channels such as HBO or Showtime. I found it and "A Quiet Place" (2018) on FX! It was worth it to slog through commercials to see this unique hard Science Fiction movie. I got "Slaughterhouse-Five" (1972) and "Quantum Leap" (1989-1993) vibes as the movie presented Time as Circular.

absolutely brilliant movie! ♥

18 minutes into your reaction you wondered if the aliens knew what was going to happen; I believe they did, which is why Abbott was always late to the sessions - he dreaded his coming fate, but persevered because events needed to play out in order for Louise to complete her journey and finish “rewiring” her brain through immersion into their language. We can also postulate that Louise followed his example, letting her future play out despite knowing the emotional price she would pay…

Denis is like that.. sorry, not sorry. Cause I have the same reaction.

In Mandarin Loiuse says to Shang "Jiang jun, wo zai mei guo ying di. Jian jun, ni fu ren gei wo tuo meng le. [inaudible] Ta shuo ni ying ping jie yong qi lai bang zhuo zheng jiu shi jie. Zhan zheng bu cheng jiu ying xiong. Xi hui liu xia gu er gua mu." "General, I am in the American camp. Your wife sent a message in a dream. [inaudible] She said you should be brave/corageous to help save the world. War makes not heroes but orphans and widows."

Wow, a reaction to this movie from someone who is intelligent. Finally. What a satisfying video to watch. Subscribing

If it makes you feel any better, the plot twist surprised me too. :D

Hey Nia, you should also watch, "Inception", "The PRestige", "Contact" and "District 9", they are some of my favorite Sci-Fi movies of all time. After seeing Arrival you need to check out that one next.

one of the best movies ever made

I just happened on to your channel and found out you’re part Japanese like me. Darn if you didn’t have me crying also. This is one of the smartest sci-fi flicks, just a great story. I was born in the fifties and so I’d like to recommend two sf movies from that decade. 1) The Day the Earth Stood Still and 2) Forbidden Planet. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

You must watch the film GIFTED. You will love it and will have the same reaction, as it is all about humanity in a 'normal' story situation. There is a scene in a hospital that is worth the entire movie, and it won't hit you until it happens. Wonderful!

Beautiful reaction....to a beautiful movie! I'd love to see a reaction from you to 'Heat' (1995 action/drama) and 'Top Secret' (1984 comedy).

Beautiful reaction to a brilliant film. Since you love this film so much, I'm pretty sure you'll adore these films: "STRANGER THAN FICTION," "PLEASANTVILLE," "AMELIE" ...all of these are absolutely brilliant films that have light moments as well as thoughtful empathy and truly beautiful moments. "CHILDREN OF MEN" is also incredible, but a lot more gritty and realistic in it's near future portrayal... ALL of these films are absolutely brilliant and you'll never forget them. All the best!

26:57 i came for the tears... .... but stayed for the movie breakdown

What really gives me chills about "Arrival" is the fact that politics, religious zealots, and the military elite would be determining what course of action should be taken against the Alien entities. This mindset creates a win-lose scenario as opposed to a win-win or Zero-sum game scenario. Most Sci-Fi movies paint the aliens as coming to invade our planet and make humanity slaves. This is the way humans think and we can only see past the decisions that we ourselves understand.

"Once you know your child, there is never a future you could imagine without them." My daughter is 9 months old, and when I hold her sometimes I think about the infinite number of decisions and actions that brought her to me. Any change, no matter how small, ANY change in my life before the moment of conception and she would have never come to be. One exact sperm and one exact egg had to meet for her to come into existence. If that moment of fertilization was shifted even a tenth of a second in either direction it's a near certainty that she wouldn't be here today. There would be some other child. And I would love them just as much as I love her, but... they wouldn't be her. And I would never see her little face scrunched up in joy, with a big smile and her two bottom teeth poking out.

Just a heads up Nia, The general's wife dying words "In war, there are no winners, only widows." With the gift of seeing the future, she knew she had to act fast to prevent War from starting. If she hadn't been there or just done as she was told, the War would have begun. To know the past present and future is such a mind*$&@. I don't know if I could handle it. I might turn into Dr. Manhattan. (You'll understand when you see, "Watchmen")

Curious if you've ever seen the movie Always. It's a Steven Spielberg movie, but not one of his better known ones. Oh, and sorry for the lengthy bumps, but I just found your channel and am binging your movie reactions (which are great BTW).

The bird is to test the oxygen

Love love love this movie

not to talk past the emotional point of this but your voice is SO PLEASANT TO LISTEN TO

I just need to put this somewhere. It occurred to me that people like to debate whether Louise was right in having Hannah, knowing how she would suffer; but was her choice not that of all parents? Every person will suffer, they'll be in pain, they'll die, but we reproduce anyways. Louise made the choice that all of our parents made, that we may make ourselves, to allow Hannah to live.

17:10 ... "All at Once." Nia plays 5D chess.

Watching lots of different people react to Arrival makes me feel like I've already learned the Heptapod's language. I know the movie as a whole. I enjoy and sometimes admire the reactor's take (sometimes not), and love the repeated experience. Whether I can change the outcome of the movie isn't even a question.

This is one of the best reaction of this movie on KZfaq. Just awesome. I highly recommend you watch other movies by this director. For now, I'm gonna go check out your other reaction vids 😁

Arrival makes us ponder the conundrum If you knew the future and it's not all good. Would you want to change it? Sometimes we need to go through the bad days to come out and be strong to handle the future that is to come. To learn what we are truly capable of and what are the things we can handle. Men and women alike have always pondered these questions.

24:43 Nia sees future.

If you like this film you also have to watch Gattaca. I think you'll really like it. It's not similar in story or anything, just in how good both the story and filmmaking are. Also, I like that the film doesn't define nor explain how humanity helps the Heptapods in the future. Not through what means or what form that help comes from. Whether it's unification (though I think that's at least part of it because it's somewhat implied by the film by Shang changing his mind which then implies the other countries followed suit. Through the Hetapods sending 12 ships to disparate regions to get humanity to work together. And the Heptapods being eventually shown as beings generally accepted by the world by Hannah's drawing and Louise's book being a big deal), learning the language itself, the time altering effects of learning the language, and/or a combination (most likely) or even something completely different. I cry every time I watch this. And her "I forgot how good it felt to be held by you" and the end when it's the first time they actually embrace... 😭😭 And a second wonderful, bittersweet experience with this film is watching it a second time knowing what you know. Essentially, mirroring Louise's own experience with knowing what's to come. Which I think was very much intentional. Sorry for the wall of text. Your vid just got me thinking about this film, that I love, again and some thoughts bubbling up.

Oh The Green Mile next? You might need a whole box of tissues.

This is such a beautiful movie.