Unmatched to this day

Rating: 10/10 (12 April 2000)

When I read negative reviews for this film, I am literally disgusted. As a film buff, I know objectively that I should keep in mind that not everyone likes every movie. But I can't help but think that the people who do not appreciate this film are probably either too jaded with life to understand it or too pompous to accept the way it touches all of our lives.
This film makes no concrete statements about the existence of God or aliens. It does not try to make those types of statements because those statements are antithetical to the themes of the film. This is not a movie that is supposed to make you believe in God (or as one review I read put it, "to make you think God is a little green man). It's supposed to make you think, but moreover its goal is to make you feel. It applies to all of us because it is about us as a species. It's not about us as Americans, or men or women; it's about the deep rooted desire we all have to make some kind of sense out of a universe that doesn't give easy answers.
I couldn't care less about the effects (although they were amazing). The only thing I know is that everytime I watch this film, the last shot of Ellie looking up at the stars makes me cry. Not out of sadness-lots of movies can make you cry out of sadness. I'm tired of watching deep, dark, depressing films. Just because something is depressing that does not make it inherently artistic. It doesn't take much to make a person sad. It takes a special film to provoke someone to tears of optimism and hope. CONTACT gives me hope for the future of film, as well as hope for just the plain old future.