I've been on a major sci-fi movie kick this month, plus I recently started watching Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" on Netflix (a little late to the party, eh?) so it was no wonder that I'd revisit the film based on Sagan's book, Contact. I first saw this film as a young teen and it has become a favorite that I've rewatched many times since then.
Contact is the story of Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), a scientist and astronomer constantly on the search for evidence of life "out there." When she picks up a signal from space that proves it was sent by intelligent beings, the whole world becomes obsessed with extra-terrestrial life. Ellie is faced with defending her findings, her convictions, and her jealousy at others taking credit.
This is an excellent example of a science fiction film without tons of action, explosions, etc. This one is especially interesting to me because it explores science versus religion. For Dr. Arroway, science IS her religion. She is a scientist and an atheist and, despite having life-changing experiences, she still holds firm to who she is and what she knows to be true. I love that. I also love the realistic depiction of how people would react to such a discovery: you'd have politicians trying to make it a political issue and control everything, and you'd have the wackos being pretty damn crazy. But that's what this world is, isn't it? Takes all kinds. Let's hope we're not alone out here.
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