20 Most Epic Movie Moments Of 2016
9. Louise Meets General Shang - Arrival
Louise (Amy Adams) being gifted the ability to view time in non-linear fashion by the aliens allows her to "remember" a United Nations reception in the future, where she's thanked by General Shang (Tzi Ma) for convincing him to suspend the Chinese attack against the aliens, after which he gives her his phone number, without knowing why.
This allows present-day Louise to steal a satellite phone and call Shang, as the future meeting reveals that she convinced him to cancel the attack by reciting his dying wife's last words. Louise then repeats the words in Mandarin while the army base's soldiers suspect she's become a traitor to the Chinese, but she manages to get the message through in time.
It's an incredibly tense scene but also astounding in seeing Louise harness her new abilities, and also somewhat amusing given Shang's own incredulity at giving Louise exactly the right information she needs.