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My recommendation is the 2016 movie Arrival directed by Denis Villeneuve. I saw this film on a return flight from an exhausting four-day business trip, and it left a fresh yet lingering impression. It helped me overcome the fatigue and inconvenience resulting from watching a movie on a small screen, awkward dubbing by voice actors, and in-flight announcements that often interrupted my viewing of the movie.

Many other blockbusters deal with themes such as encounters and communications with extraterrestrials and tense situations that could trigger a war with aliens. Yet, Arrival differentiates itself by taking on a similar subject and situation in a unique and insightful, yet not too dramatic manner. An example testifying to this difference is the plausible explanation of the protagonist’s ability to see the future based on her perception of the relationship between language and thinking.

Arrival poses the question, “If you can see the future, will you change it?” The protagonist uses her ability to see the future to save humanity but chooses to accept her fate even though she knows there will be no happy ending. Fortunately, most people cannot see the future, and thus do not need to agonize over such choices. Nonetheless, the question provided great food for thought. The movie was based on Ted Chiang’s science fiction novella “Story of Your Life,” and I recommend reading it to those curious over its differences with the film.

Kim Su-yeonMovieDear Evan Hansen