What is the science fiction masterpiece that forced the production team of ``The Arrival'' to change the ending?

"Arrival" synopsis

A huge spaceship suddenly landed on the ground. Louise (Amy Adams), a linguist hired by the military to communicate with mysterious intelligent life forms, works with physicist Ian (Jeremy Renner) to find out what "they" have to say to humanity. We will explore whether this is true or not. When the mystery of their language is solved, the surprising truth behind how they came to Earth and their beautiful yet heartbreaking final Arrival to humanity will be revealed.

Index

• “That gift” that also connects to “Space Battleship Yamato”
• The genealogy of science fiction movies in which a higher being bestows “power” on humanity and the “signs” that are passed down.
• Not all gifts are good
• The origin of story types can be seen in the Greek myth of Prometheus.

“That gift” that also connects to “Space Battleship Yamato”

The ending of Denis Villeneuve's 2016 American film The Arrival is different from that of Ted Chiang's novel The Story of Your Life . However, screenwriter Eric Heisserer originally had an ending in mind that was different from both the novel and the final version.

In the middle of the film, when the language of the alien heptapods has gradually begun to be understood, the team members of each country become nervous when the words describing their purpose are translated as "to provide weapons." It increases all at once. Linguist Louise (Amy Adams) argues that their word, which is translated as "weapon," may actually mean "tool."

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The ``things'' that the heptapods provide to humanity, which are revealed near the end, are elements that were significantly changed during production. In an interview, Heisserer reflected:

"An early version of the script had the heptapod leaving behind blueprints for an interstellar ship, some sort of ark."

Interstellar , directed by Christopher Nolan, will be released in 2014. In this work, Murph (Jessica Chastain), a female researcher who studies gravity control necessary to colonize another galaxy, meets Earth from a being beyond time and space, where abnormal weather threatens to wipe out humanity. Get important information. As a result, Interstellar travel becomes possible - Heisserer and the production team of ``The Arrival'' were concerned that the original script would give the impression of a similar ending, so they worked on rewriting it. It was.

There is one type of science fiction story in which a person is given advanced technology or knowledge by a ``higher being'' such as an alien or a future human being. When it comes to interstellar navigation, the one most familiar to Japanese people is Space Battleship Yamato. Humanity, which was on the verge of extinction due to radioactive contamination, is given a blueprint for a wave engine by the Iskandar aliens, and they mount this engine on the battleship Yamato and set out on an interstellar journey.

Let's take a look at some representative science fiction films that share this type of story with The Arrival.

The genealogy of science fiction movies in which a higher being bestows “power” on humanity and the “signs” that are passed down.