Enemy Mine (1985)

One of the better science-fiction films from the 1980s, it starts off all laser guns blazing as a bit of passable space opera nonsense but when Davidge (Dennis Quaid) is marooned on a hostile planet the film changes (and improves) dramatically. He sets off in search of the Drac enemy he shot down though tables are soon turned when he ends up the prisoner of Jeriba (Louis Gossett Jr).

However, to survive on the planet the two must work together and friendship blossoms as they struggle against meteorite storms and vile predatory creatures. They learn each other's language and culture, though Jeriba seems to think Mickey Mouse is a prominent Human philosopher. Maybe he was?

Jeriba gives birth and dies, Dravidge brings up the child (Bumper Robinson) as his nephew. Then a slaver ship led by the brutal Stubbs (Brion James) lands on the planet...

Although the film is bookended by sci-fi action, the bulk of the film is an intelligent exploration of what really makes a person and how two enemies can have more in common than different. The film had a troubled start, the director being changed during filming, the new director starting again from scratch! Despite this, the film has some magic to it.