One of the best sci-fi movies: Contact (1997) movie review
At the beginning, I want to mention that one of the authors of this story is Carl Sagan. He is an astronomer and a highly influential author whose works have reached millions worldwide and have earned him several awards.
Contact 1997 movie storyline and events
The movie starts with Ellie, a little girl who loves exploring and talking to others, as well as following the stars. Her father encouraged her to pursue these passions until he passed away when she was young.
Ellie grows up to become an astronomer, specializing in searching for other life patterns in the universe, and works on a scientific project called SETI under the management of Dr. Drumlin, who wants quick results from this project, which led him to end it due to the difficulty of obtaining results. He was convinced it was beyond reach.
This greatly angered Dr. Ellie, as it was destroying her dream. During that time, she met a person named Palmer Joss, a cleric who confronted those who misused technology against human nature and their beliefs. Joss wanted to conduct an interview with Dr. Drumlin, which might benefit him in his book. He wrote a book about the impact of technology on third-world countries.
Ellie admired Joss because he reminded her of her father, and she quickly entered into a relationship with him, which was not meant to last. When Ellie found out the project was ending, she decided to look for other funding to continue the project elsewhere and began her efforts to do so.
Indeed, Ellie succeeded in obtaining funding for her project, and she moved to live in New Mexico near the large array there. She spent four years searching for other life in the universe until she learned that the government had decided to withdraw its telescopes from the project under pressure from several other scientists, led by Drumlin. She should now start looking for other sources of financing.
At the same time, Joss became a popular author among the people and even managed to become the White House's spiritual advisor. He was known for his strong faith in God. He gained widespread fame through his ideas and started giving television interviews to share his beliefs.
Ellie was walking through the array, sitting alone and listening to the whispers of space coming to Earth, until that sound suddenly rang loudly in her ears. It was a signal coming from space, so she rushed like mad to the laboratory, shouting over the radio to her colleagues there to start monitoring the signal, and they quickly began recording it. As she arrived at the lab, she started to determine what the signal was and where it was coming from, eventually discovering that it was from a star named Vega. It was one of the most important moments in the movie—exciting and fun—leaving you with an indescribable sense of enthusiasm.
Ellie had to share this incredible discovery with everyone, but she still remained skeptical about what was happening. So, she quickly started communicating with other stations around the world to inform them about the signal so they could begin tracking and monitoring it. This was necessary because of the Earth’s rotation and to ensure that the signal was genuinely coming from outside the Earth.
The matter became certain for Ellie. Everyone spotted the signal, and the American government learned about it and rushed to the scene, along with Dr. Drumlin and the President’s National Security Advisor, who was trying to understand what was happening. Amidst that, they discovered a second signal, stronger than the first. This one was visible, and when they received it on the screen – which was redacted – shock appeared on everyone's faces.
Hitler was on the screen, announcing the start of the first Olympic Games in the new era. It was the first satellite broadcast from inside the Earth, received by aliens and relayed back to us.
Then the White House held a conference to clarify the nature of this discovery and to reassure people a little because of these events, and Ellie was supposed to speak at it, but Dr. Drumlin took the lead in explaining what happened to the press and the public.
At the same time, inside the laboratory, another message was discovered along with the visual message. It became clearer after examining it that it was a massive amount of data. No one knew what it was referencing. When Ellie learned of this, she was both happy and surprised. When the government was informed, they decided to assign the research mission. All these discoveries were made under the supervision and coordination of Dr. Drumlin, and under the leadership of Dr. Ellie.
These statements lacked principles of reading and had no clear meaning, and their attempts to find or explain their significance kept going but achieved nothing. That night, Ellie returned home to find another message waiting for her. This time, it was from an earthly source, and someone knew about this Data and wanted to meet her somewhere to clarify the situation.
It was Mr. Hadden who granted her the funding for her project and who remains very enthusiastic about it. He surprised her by understanding the principles of reading this data and shared it with her, which made her extremely happy and amazed. She headed to the White House to inform them about it, and in a small session, she presented what she had learned. The data consisted of drawings of a machine they needed to build, but no one knew its purpose. There were several opinions opposing its construction, including the White House's spiritual advisor, Joss.
In the end, they understood that the machine was not meant to harm the Earth, but its purpose was to transport one person to them and facilitate communication between the two parties. Accordingly, several candidates were selected, led by Dr. Ellie and Dr. Drumlin.
The machine was built at a very high cost, and Dr. Drumlin was selected as the passenger. After several tests of the candidates and listening to their opinions and reactions during these sessions, the cleric Joss asked Dr. Ellie about her belief in the existence of God. She replied that she believes in the result and the cause. This was precisely the reason she was excluded from taking this trip, and it turned out to be fortunate for her, as the machine exploded on Dr. Drumlin just before he embarked on the journey.
Dr. Ellie was surprised that another machine had been built somewhere else by Mr. Hadden, and that he had chosen her as the Earth’s ambassador to it. Just before its launch, she was caught off guard by the cleric Joss. He visited her and explained that he had asked about her faith in God intentionally because he loved her and did not want to lose her.
Dr. Ellie begins her exciting journey, passing through multiple wormholes until she finds herself in a place with a beach, water, and trees, where she can touch space with her hands. From afar, she sees the silhouette of a person forming and approaching her. She tries to identify their features until they get close. She is very surprised that it is her father, which makes her unable to believe what she sees, but she throws herself into his arms in a touching scene. Of course, it was not really him. He was one of the creatures that contacted them, embodied as a figure from her memory, and he was the closest person to her — her father.
A conversation took place between her and this creature, in which he told her that there were other beings in the universe besides them, and that they had been studying them for some time. He also mentioned that they found humans suffering from loneliness, a feeling of loss, and a lack of tolerance for each other. Dr. Ellie asked him if other visits were possible, and he replied yes, but noted that this was only the first step. He asked her to be patient when she told him that her people wanted to see what she saw.
The return trip started immediately, and Ellie suddenly woke up from her coma. She heard a voice asking how she was doing and mentioning that they were trying to figure out what kind of malfunction had occurred in the machine. However, she surprised them all by asking how long she had been gone on her trip and what the date was today. When she regained full consciousness, they showed her what the cameras surrounding the machine had recorded: the vehicle she was in had fallen through the machine into the water. This astonished and confused her greatly and made her insist that she had gone on her journey.
The President decides to launch a special investigation into what happened, led by the National Security Advisor, who had some doubts about the incident. This was evident in his sharp questioning of Dr. Ellie. He told her that it was all a big hoax, orchestrated by Mr. Hadden for reasons unknown, and he referenced a saying that Scientific advocates: the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.
He pointed out that there was not a single piece of evidence supporting her story about her journey. One of the investigators asked her an important question: Are you asking us to believe your story without any evidence, facts, or even a recording? Her response shocked everyone when she said it was possible that none of this actually happened, and she had no real evidence to prove it. When the National Security Advisor demanded she admit that her trip didn't really happen, she responded with what the movie wanted us to understand.
This trip was an experience that felt incredibly real, and it changed her forever because it gave her a vision of the universe. I learned about the vastness of mankind, his rarity, and his worth within it, and that we definitely belong to something greater than ourselves, with certainty. We are not alone in the universe, and she hopes everyone feels the humility, awe, and hope she experienced. She was unusually honest about her feelings.
From initially not believing in God, Ellie came to believe in Him. The last scene showed her leaving with the cleric Joss, who supported her by believing her story and realizing she had truly changed. He felt God's presence and the miracles He created in the universe and its creatures. It was a very beautiful moment for him, with her holding his hand in gratitude for his love and faith.
my words
- A truly wonderful movie that portrays a beautiful idea and even more beautiful feelings, with dreamy moments between a father and his daughter, a person’s struggle to protect his dream, and an ending that reminds us of the greatness of our Creator, who has instilled in us all these qualities that are unique to any other creature in this vast universe.
- The movie's music is very dreamy and delicate, evoking wonderful feelings. It significantly enhances the movie's events.
- This movie touches a part of the heart and makes it feel comfortable, calm, and accepting of each of us as God created us.
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