MovieChat Forums > Contact (1997) Discussion > The real genius of this movie is lost on...

The real genius of this movie is lost on many people.

posted 8 years ago by Colonel-Lingus
19 replies | jump to latest

Especially those complaining about what a bad science fiction movie it is. At one time, I was one of those people. In actual fact, this is not a sci fi movie at all……..it’s a philosophical drama. Your first clue should have been that this was directed by Robert Zemeckis.

This movie is about the value of our humanity. That coming to terms with our consciousness and humanity is the most valuable and important discovery that we can make, and what makes us (and possibly like-minded beings elsewhere) the greatest phenomenon of all in the universe. The religious nut that blows up the first machine is the opposite side of the coin from Elly and her fanatical belief in “the language of science”. Both are lost souls searching for the wrong things…..answers to questions that will be answered for us all in time. The supposedly disappointing ending is actually part of its brilliance because the audience is like Elly, they’ve been trolled the entire movie expecting to see some amazing, highly advanced civilization, and at the end she winds up sitting out by the canyon contemplating the meaning of her existence. Throughout the movie, Reverend Joss is the only one in the movie who is on the path, yet is patient enough to wait for the answers he seeks.

Does it ever occur to anyone else that the “ET” that Elly meets in that pseudo Garden Of Eden is, in fact, her father, who has joined a higher plane of existence in the universe? Perhaps in sense, heaven is a concept that can be explained both by scientific reality and faith in God. Einstein himself said that humanity would never be capable of understanding more than about 10% of the way the universe works.

You don’t have to be deeply religious or have a PhD in Astrophysics to realize we are more than just a collection of highly ordered carbon atoms and water molecules. That’s the real brilliance of this film. You can make of it whatever you want, but it will force you to ask questions and reflect on your own life (a Zemeckis specialty in most of his films)

[–] Kewl_Kat 8 years ago

It's great. 10/10.

I'm a real kewl kat.🐈

[–] stones78 (426) 3 years ago

no, it was boring as hell.

[–] Burk48917 (11365) 3 years ago

It had some great moments, but 10/10 is way to generous.

[–] crakatoot 8 years ago

I didn't like it. We should have seen aliens at the end. It was really anticlimactic.

[–] Kewl_Kat 8 years ago

You may have seen an alien. Nobody knows who that individual was near the end. Was it her father or was it an alien assuming the image of her father? Was it all in her mind? Having crazy looking aliens pop out at the end would have been dumb. We already know intelligent alien life forms existed in this movie because they sent a signal with detailed instructions. The story is perfect because it is content to end with mysteriousness.

I'm a real kewl kat.🐈

[–] BiffGG (662) 7 years ago

Yep, just like it was better to see Dave Bowman in 2010 than an alien. Some mysteries need to be maintained to keep their luster.

[–] BettyX 8 years ago

Her Dad was the "alien".

“I’m more humble than you can understand”-Donnie Dump

[–] pjl69 (2647) 4 years ago

I was afraid they gonna show some squeqy CGI monsters, but luckily they chose a different path.

[–] tbucciarelli 8 years ago

Totally brilliant assessment of this movie. Science and faith are not mutually exclusive.

[–] BettyX 8 years ago

That is what Newton said, not.

“I’m more humble than you can understand”-Donnie Dump

[–] bensmybaby 8 years ago

She journeyed to the planet with her mind.
I think under those circumstances her body was in a state of hybernation which means her body had slowed down so she did not need to excrete any waste matter because her body was not producing the functions that would have led her to produce waste matter.

[–] fani (431) 5 years ago

Wrong thread but also wrong answer. She didn't journey with her mind. She was also physically on Vega's orbiting planet.
Why? Because her headset which recorded the 18hrs was with her. The headset didn't have some spiritual journey.

[–] ophelia_hardin 8 years ago

I'm not deeply religious, but still prefer the notion that we are bags of mostly water over that of creation via a Spaghetti Monster.

[–] tapio_hietamaki 8 years ago

Well said! I think the crux of the film is how impatient humans can be but how we are also full of potential. Seeing the aliens were not the point.

[–] cobrn-24298 8 years ago

I think it was more of seeing our inner self and realizing just how small we really are.

[–] Pesebrero (197) 4 years ago

The "opposite side of the coin" from Ellie was Palmer. The original book was written by a scientist, he conceived the story to show religion and science as not mutually exclusive. The director of the film confirmed this.

The alien was NOT Ellie's father, he recognized it immediately after she realized he could not be real. He said something along the lines of "we did this to make it easier for you".

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

It's a terrible movie.