"Arrival", directed by Denis Villeneuve and released in 2016, is an intellectually stimulating journey that unravels the mysteries of communication and the non-linear nature of time through an alien encounter.
The film begins when twelve mysterious, gigantic alien spaceships land at disparate locations across the globe, causing mass panic. Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a renowned linguist, and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) are recruited by the U.S. government to attempt to communicate with the alien beings (dubbed "heptapods") and understand their purpose on Earth.
Inside the shell-shaped craft, Louise and Ian encounter the heptapods who communicate through a complex language of circular symbols. Louise takes on the daunting task of deciphering their written language, growing more adept at understanding their non-linear perception of time in the process. This is coupled with increasingly frequent and vivid flashbacks of Louise's daughter who died from a rare illness, causing the viewer to question the sequence of events.
As international cooperation breaks down and several nations consider a military response, Louise makes a breakthrough. She learns that the aliens have come to offer a "gift" to humanity: their language, a tool that allows one to perceive time non-linearly, seeing future events as clearly as past ones.
In a critical twist, it's revealed that Louise's "flashbacks" of her daughter are actually flash-forwards, glimpses of a future she hasn't experienced yet. Using her newfound knowledge, she averts a global catastrophe by convincing the Chinese general to stand down, having seen a future conversation where he gives her his personal number and the words she needs to say to persuade him.
The film ends with Louise accepting the bitter-sweet reality of her future: she will have a daughter with Ian, who she will outlive, and a relationship that will crumble when she reveals this truth to Ian. However, she chooses to embrace this future, understanding that the joy and love it holds are worth the inevitable pain.
"Arrival" is a profound contemplation of time, communication, and the human condition, encapsulated in an alien-encounter narrative.