A very exciting, thought provoking, and well executed film

Rating: 9/10 (9 August 2006)

It has been nearly a decade since this came out and it still echoes in my mind from time to time. I need not repeat what others have said in this forum... just to assert that this is one of the best films I have seen in the past 10 years.
I am not a spiritual person, so I found the ending a little bit weak, so I vote a 9/10. Still, how better could one have ended it? I do not know.
I found the build up to be very exciting and unique to a film that comes across as drama more than sci-fi. Yet it was all about the fact that science is just a subset of what can be known. No one has all the answers... not spiritualists or scientists.
I think this film taught me just that, while getting me excited, disappointed, and then excited again. It recognizes some very deep thoughts that pass through many a human mind. At the same time, you can follow Ellie's adventure and be engaged, thrilled, disappointed, and enlightened.
I need not mention the fine cast... so I won't (somebody else has certainly already done so). Needless to say, it was great.
Not all will find this film as spectacular as I have found it to be. For them, I am sorry. This film opens the mind... it does not contradict your faith. It may seem to suggest that you examine your beliefs, but it also makes clear that you are free to believe what you believe.
That is a brilliant balance.