Robert Zemeckis
Contact

THE REVIEW

Whoever, fond of alien invasions, felt offended by "Independence Day," might find solace in "Contact."

Just like in "Signs," the religious-philosophical component interposes itself to the mere concept of invasion, overshadowing its intentions and taking the spotlight.

The small, yet great Ellie Arroway (not only figuratively speaking: in the work, the protagonist embodies childhood and adult life thanks to the excellent Jena Malone and Jodie Foster) does not accept the idea, objectively never proven, that we are alone. And, bravely, she embarks on a crusade against the giants of science first, and then religious faith. Her conviction, pure practical sense, evades the fragile and elaborate scientific theories and the mystical considerations of the church: why should we ever be alone? It would be an immense waste of space (pay attention to this quote because it is the film's core theme).

[Spoiler] After spending a handful of years searching, searching, and searching among quasars and constellations, getting only pulsars in response, boom! Ellie stumbles upon a repeating signal based on prime numbers which, once dissected, analyzed, and decoded, delivers to humanity the ultimate mockery: the little green men, using Vega as a support vehicle, send back to us the delayed broadcast of Hitler's speech delivered at the opening of the '36 Olympics.

Recklessly, Ellie alerts everyone: the press, the military, and multinationals. The news of the alien message triggers chaos: faithful believers, amateur ufologists, curious spectators, conspirators, men of faith, gurus, and government officials ready to go on the defensive.

Ellie, forcefully sidelined by the authorities, quite loudly maintains the project's supervision, embodying a Don Quixote who must convince the skeptics, supported on an emotional level by Reverend Joss Palmer (a youthful Matthew McConaughey), but truly placed at the project's center by the magnate/philanthropist/eccentric S. R. Hadden (John Hurt) who, on his deathbed, will reveal to Ellie that he had bet on her from the very beginning.

So? Overflowing mystification or, really, is someone up there calling us?

Ellie, an atheist, consistently to the end with her beliefs, with humility and unprecedented ferocity, will board the spacecraft (whose design was contained in the alien message in a multidimensional key) and will meet her fate, venturing beyond known space.

Will she return? Will she still be herself? But then, did she truly leave? And up there, whom did she find: God or the aliens?

Well, I can't tell you everything: watch it, won't you? :)