Contact (1997)

Rating: 9/10 (15 November 2008)

Young Ellie: Dad, do you think there's people on other planets? Ted Arroway: I don't know, Sparks. But I guess I'd say if it is just us... seems like an awful waste of space.
Contact is a science-fiction film written by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The title "Contact" refers to the main plot, in which the human race makes contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life for the first time. However, it has a double meaning, because the title also refers to the contact made between human beings, and how significant events can effect the dynamics between various groups of human beings.
Contact is about Ellie Arroway, a brilliant astronomer who passionately supports the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence project, a passion which is not reciprocated by those around her. One day, after years and years of listening to various radio frequencies across the universe, she finally hears a signal coming from the star Vega. This signal is unmistakably intelligent, as it consists of every prime number between 1 and 101. Upon closer inspection, something even deeper is discovered about the message, and what follows is an account of how this message effects the human race, including the political, religious, and the economic ramifications.
Carl Sagan was a staunch humanist, who believed strongly in the value of human ingenuity, and our potential to be accepted into a fictional galactic community which he wrote about often, consisting of the populations of extraterrestrial species on other star systems and planets. Contact most definitely incorporates all of these ideas, and is unmistakably Sagan in it's depth of inspiration, emotional content, and hope for humanity.
This is a film that has always stayed with me; it's a deeply moving and profound piece of art that poses serious intellectual questions, but at the same time makes an argument that not everything can be rationalized, including life, love, faith, and the existence of God. At its core, the film is a study... a study of the interactions between human beings, and the methods human beings will utilize in order to make sense of their existence on this "pale blue dot" of ours, whether it be by science, religion, destruction, or love.
It's not a perfect film, but it's one that has inspired me greatly; I wouldn't be the same without it.
9/10