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Movie · Sci-fi, Drama · 2016 · PG-13

Arrival: parents' guide

12+our pick

Best for ages 12 and up. Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

A quiet, thoughtful sci-fi drama for patient tweens and teens, in which a linguist tries to communicate with mysterious aliens before world powers turn to war. There is little action: riots and looting on the news, soldiers with guns, and one explosion. The hardest part is emotional. Recurring scenes show the heroine's daughter growing up, falling seriously ill and dying, including a hospital deathbed scene with her mother weeping over her. There is one f-word, a little mild swearing, and no sexual content. Best for 12 and up who can handle grief and slow pacing.

What's in it

Violence

Mild

Mostly threat rather than action: TV coverage of riots and looting, armed soldiers, a smuggled bomb whose blast knocks two people backward, and a gun pointed at the heroine. A news report mentions a cult's mass suicide.

Language

Moderate

One f-word ("holy f---"), plus "bastard," "hell," "damn," "screw it" and a few uses of "oh my God." Otherwise very clean.

Sex and nudity

None

No sexual content. A couple embraces, and one asks the other whether she wants to have a baby.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Mild

The heroine drinks wine at home. A military doctor gives the scientists a shot that may cause hallucinations, a passing detail.

Scary or intense scenes

Moderate

Eerie, slow-building tension inside the alien ship, with huge looming creatures, soldiers in hazmat suits and rising panic. Repeated scenes of a girl's illness and death, with her mother grieving over her body, are the most upsetting part.

Sensitive topics

  • Death of a child

Worth talking about

If you knew the painful parts of your future in advance, would you still choose the same life? The film opens a big conversation about love and loss.

Where to stream →

On our lists

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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, childrenandmedia.org.au, moviemom.com. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.