Contact with something never seen

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 2001)

In my country we call a movie like this a "esgalha". This word doesn't have any translation to english, it's just portuguese lingo which means something between "well-achieved" and "fantastic" and "truly great" but it's the only word I can find to express my feelings when watching a movie like this. From the first time I saw the trailer, I knew this one would be something great. I had been a fan of Bob Zemeckis, and I didn't think he ever failed to achieve his intentions in a project: among his all-time best are the escapist genius of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", the incredible "Back to the Future" saga, and even one of his first movies, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", a chronicle of Beatlemania which was broadcasted more than 10 years ago here and I never heard of again. This movie was his great comeback. But he wasn't the only one: along for the ride was one of my favorite actresses, and she was coming to a much-wanted return, needless to say, after all those years of pause.
I shall say that, if this movie didn't brought me to tears, it was because it wasn't long enough. It stroke me right on the face: before seeing it I just saw a trailer, I didn't know any plot details, I didn't know any good moments, absolutely nothing. So when I come across that opening scene, just that chilling experience told me that this one was going to be good. And it didn't fail to be so: it's, from my point of view, one of the best movies of 1997, no questions asked. Using a credible source (the book from Carl Sagan), fantastic actors (Foster deserved an oscar nomination, as well as John Hurt as Hadden) and a surrounding feeling which makes us grab the arms of the chair (my heart was beating in the the final sequence), I rarely seen a movie with such a gift to have our hearts beating according to its own pace. The scenes are surprising from the beginning to the end, and it has a kind of poignancy which is rare these days. I will not spoil any plot, I don't want to make you lose all the suprises of a good film, just see it. I just admire, and will keep on loving it. It's a part of my DVD collection the moment it's out of the stores. See it in the theatres if there is a chance, or with a really good sound system and a big screen. It is worth it.