Arrival

(Denis Villeneuve, US/Canada 2016, 116 min., DCP)

Jóhann Jóhannsson’s musical score for Arrival is integral to the film’s theme of communication and transports the audience with otherworldly, atmospheric sensations. He layered multiple tracks of piano drones with human voices to produce eerie, unsettling pieces of music. Associate Professor of Music Charity Lofthouse will discuss the score and its implementation in the film, which stars Amy Adams as Dr. Louise Banks, a linguist working with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world. With tensions rising, Banks and her team must race against time to translate the alien messages and avoid a global war.