Subject: Review: Contact (1997)

From: [email-masked] (Ben Hoffman)
Date: 14 Jul 1997 15:39:16 GMT

CONTACT

The opening scene of CONTACT is the most awesome (in the sense of
"fantastic") several minutes of great special effects as we are
hurtled away from Earth at a huge speed.   Our planet becomes a
globe, getting smaller and smaller as we speed by the other planets
of our solar system.  Earth becomes a mere dot as we continue the
speeding away from our solar system, past the Milky Way and on and
on.  Simply stunning.   That alone is just about worth the price
of admission.

CONTACT could not have chosen a better time for its theatrical
release.  While through the ages people have wondered about the
stars and many have begun to wonder if there were possibly some
kind of life in some distant solar system, the soft landing of our
space probe on Mars must certainly have revived new speculation and
interest.

While Carl Sagan, on whose book CONTACT is based, when asked if he
believed in some highly-evolved life elsewhere in the infinitely
vast universe, replied "The key word in that question is 'believe.'
And in my view, you believe only on the basis of compelling
evidence."   In short, that evidence was never forthcoming to him.

Perhaps more important, however, was how he and his wife, Ann
Druyan,  felt about how such an event if it ever did happen would
affect the inhabitants of our planet.  That is what his book is
about.   What happens to religious belief if it turns out that
"there is someone out there" when according to the Bible, God
placed Man on Earth; that the stars and sun and moon are there only
to give us light. Sagan also wanted us to realize the incredible,
just about incomprehensible, vastness of the universe.

What happens to those who see aliens from another planet as
potential enemies.  In the film, Michael Kitz, (James Woods) is the
head of government security, reacting to the news that we are
getting a message form outer space as a time for increased
security.    Never mind that it is pointed out to him that it is
more probably that "anyone" capable of contacting us must have a
superior intelligence and would be unlikely to be warlike as we
stupid Earthlings are.

Ever since Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) was a little child, she was
interested in stars and space.  Many were the hours she spent
listening to her short wave radio hoping to hear something other
than static from outer space.   While still young, her father died.
Ellie continued her studies and went on to become a respected
scientist in the field of radio.  Pretty nearly the whole
scientific community looked upon her obsession as being on the kook
side but her persistence got her some time to use the satellite
antennas to search the heavens.

Hour after hour, day after day, Ellie listened until one day she
heard something odd, something she had never heard before, and it
had a pattern.   It was coming from a distant star, Vega.  Getting
her fellow scientists to monitor the sounds, they discover that the
noises (sounding like grunts from a Jurassic Park dinosaur) were in
fact spaced to coincide with prime numbers.   That was proof this
was not some strange static.   Idiots such as Michael Kitz wanted
to know how come the messages were not in English.  Ellie had to
explain to him that English is not likely to be spoken in other
solar systems but mathematics would be a universal language.

Quickly, all the nations begin to ponder the significance while the
hucksters get busy with Vega fairs and people come flocking to them
as if to a picnic . . . or looking at the antennas as they would
when they believe a picture of Jesus is weeping.   In short, the
world is in a turmoil and so are their leaders.   President Clinton
gives some reassuring words on TV.

The story has many facets, all of interest.  Jodie Foster give her
usual wonderful performance.  Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), is
a respected religious scholar and high up in the government
hierarchy.   He and Ellie are in love . . . more or less.
S R Hadden (John Hurt), is an eccentric billionaire who takes an
interest in Ellie's behalf to help her combat those who would thwart
her.  For instance, the first trip to VEGA is not given to Ellie
who is most deserving, but to some other prominent scientist, David
Drumlin (Tom Skerritt).   Rachel Constantine (Angela Bassett) is
the President's press secretary.

CONTACT is one terrific film.  The sets, which include a space ship
readied to visit Vega, are perfect.  Many are the questions that
are raised as various events unfold.   These are answered in a most
satisfying conclusion.   There was one point where I thought there
was a cop-out; I could not believe Sagan would have opted for that.
However it turned out to be logical, not at all the cop-out I had
feared and I sighed with relief.  I wanted nothing to spoil this
most entertaining, exciting and informative movie that will give you
pause to ponder some of the questions it raised.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis who gave us FORREST GUMP.

4 bytes

4  bytes  =  Superb
3  bytes  =  Too good to miss
2  bytes  =  Average
1  byte   =  Save your money

                 Copyright  1997         Ben Hoffman