Carl Sagan Managed to get his message through

Rating: 10/10 (15 May 2002)

Originally a novel by Carl Sagan, an astronomer/philosopher, this film is a theological monologue (seeking to be a dialogue) in a manner of science fiction. At the surface, this is a story about an astronomer Arroway who seeks for intelligence out in space. She receives a message, which she decodes, and following the message, manages to build a space-ship-like structure. After overcoming a series of obstacles, she gets to ride on the ship.
Simultaneously, there's an intellectual/emotional relationship between a seminary drop-out minister Joss, who comfortably "scores" at the earliest stage of their acquaintance (no wonder he's dropped out of seminary).
Underneath this narrative, we hear Sagan's attempt to reconcile Reason and Faith. Arroway, who claims that mathematics is the only universal language, more or less represents "reason", whereas Joss represents "faith".

On the one hand, we see the capricious side of religion, but then we are forced to admit that over 90 % of us belong to them. In fact, you are not representative of humanity if you deny any "greater being". We also hear Sagan when Joss says that it's not science or technology that corrupts humanity. It's the incapability of humanity to handle them rightfully. In other words, Sagan cries out and says, "Religion is not against Reason per se. Religion is sceptical of humanity which so repeatedly fails to handle Reason properly."
Until Arroway returns from the "space trip", she is far more convincing than Joss (i.e. we are led to be in favor of reason than faith). The counter-balance takes place after she returns. Her "report" is nothing but a "sharing of testimony" in an evangelical meeting (if you've ever attended one). But this film does not give "faith" the victory, rather attempts to show both sides reaching out for each other. Very post-modern.
You can enjoy it either as a SF film or as a philosophical article which seeks for your response. The novel, inevitably, has a lot more layers, but I won't make an unfair comparison between the novel and this film. This film in its own right is worth paying for.