Men in Black

A science fiction comedy set in New York. There is an organisation. It keeps a register of the aliens on Earth, hides their identities, and erases witnesses' memories when necessary. James is a policeman. He chases a fugitive across the rooftops and the man jumps off a building; in the morning a man finds him and asks a few questions. He is tested and hired. His name becomes J. His partner K has been doing this for years and is surprised by nothing. From there the film is a chase. A farm, a morgue, a piece of jewellery, a cat and a flying saucer. There is an insect on the other side. It is wearing a farmer's skin and the body does not fit; the walk and the speech are deliberately wrong. What the narrative is interested in is not aliens but bureaucracy: its best humour is built on the organisation's filing, its forms and its immigration language. Postal workers, taxi drivers and a greengrocer turn out to be aliens; the city carries that joke all the way. The source is a small comic series. Most of the creatures were made mechanically and with make-up. That work won an Academy Award; some of the puppets were operated by several people at once. The running time is kept short; the film is a little over ninety minutes. The music is by Danny Elfman. Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio and Rip Torn are in the cast. Barry Sonnenfeld directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes light, fast, clever genre comedy. Who it is not for: anyone looking for depth; the narrative is simple, deliberately.