This movie deserved more Oscar attention !

Rating: 10/10 (8 January 1999)

A terrific film with a terrific story. Breathtaking from start to finish, the intro to this movie could be the most outstanding one I've ever seen ! Sagan made science understandable for many and this somewhat science-fiction work is more science than fiction. Foster turns in the performance of her career as far as I'm concerned, and I was at the end of my seat throughout the film. McConaughey, while good, may be falling into the trap of typecasting (too often a lawyer or advocate) but is likeable. Rob Lowe, representing the ''Religious Reich'', is irritating enough to be believable (he seriously deserves better roles, though). A ''must see'' film and one surprisingly downplayed at Oscar-time (a mistake the so-called ''academy'' often makes). Top rating (5 stars of 5). If you missed it buy the video !