as a devout atheist and an avowed believer in aliens , i have some idea of how ellie aroway
( jodie foster ) feels .
but because my reasons for not partaking in religion are different than hers , i ca n't say that i do exactly .
her reason is that she needs solid proof : there is no proof that god existed , so therefor she does not believe .
ellie also believes in aliens , and has spent most of her life trying to prove they exist .
how can she say she does n't believe in god because of the lack of proof , and then say she believes in aliens , which are gereally less believed in than god without sounding like a hypocrite ?
that 's the catch-22 .
when aliens from the star vega fax her some plans for a device to transport someone to them ( okay , well , they did n't really
* fax
* them . . . )
ellie wants to be the one to go , but because of her atheism she is denied the position .
how dumb is that ?
she discovers the transmitions , then she is n't allowed to go .
well , because of a bomb and a psychopath ( jake busey ) , she * does * end up going , but not in the way that we would 've thought .
contact is based on a novel by carl sagan , who died during the filmmaking .
it is the best alien movie since close encounters of the 3rd kind , and will end up being the best film of the year .
its views of science and religion will no doubt aggrivate some , but will stimulate more .
i 'm glad at least one movie of the ' 90s can portray aliens in a psitive light , rather than a bunch of slimey beasts who will eat your insides and then put on your body .
it is the best alien movie will end up being the best film of the year will stimulate more