Contact

Contact (1997) is adapted from Carl Sagan's novel and does something rare in science fiction: it treats first contact as a question of belief rather than an action event. Ellie Arroway is a radio astronomer. She picks up a signal from Vega. Inside the signal are the plans for a machine. The world begins arguing about who should build it, how, and why, and that argument is the film. The real issue is this. Ellie refuses to believe anything without evidence. The theologian across from her argues that belief does not require it. By the end the film places Ellie in exactly that position, and it presents this not as a trick but as the question itself. The opening shot, pulling away from Earth, is still regarded as one of the great openings in cinema. Jodie Foster carries the film. Sagan died during production and it is dedicated to him. It runs 150 minutes and the middle is slow. Good for: thoughtful science fiction, the argument between science and faith, and large nineties filmmaking. Fine with family. Less good for: anyone expecting action or an alien spectacle. This film is built out of conversation.