Contact (PG, 1997)

Devastated by the loss of her parents at the tender age of eight, Ellie (Jodie Foster) yearns for contact with extraterrestrials, but shies away from contact with anyone on earth. Having been hurt by feeling, she relies entirely on science, on what can be proven. After a one-night-stand with Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), a charismatic divinity school drop-out, she leaves, to continue to listen for whispers from the universe, despite short-sighted bureaucrats who cut her funding. When she finally hears something, the government steps in. The message is to build a machine, apparently to be used to go to the source of the message. Joss turns up as an advisor to the President who is assigned to the panel that will select the person who will make the trip. He does not believe that Earth should be represented by an atheist. And he does not want to lose Ellie again. Ultimately, she does make the trip, and finds that she is profoundly changed by it. She finds herself asking others to believe what she says without evidence, on the basis of faith.

Based on the late Carl Sagan's novel about a young scientist's efforts to make contact with intelligent life beyond our world, CONTACT is a thoughtful movie, and it provides a good opportunity to discuss how we know what we know, whether on the basis of faith or on what we can prove.

Sagan, a scientist who consulted on the space program and hosted public television programs about the universe, raised important questions about the connection (and sometimes obstacles) between science, business, politics, and notions of God. If he does a better job of asking them than answering them, that is at least consistent with the scientists creed that the only sin is to be afraid to ask the right questions -- and to be open-minded about the answers.

Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt
Genre: Science Fiction
Run time: 150 minutes
Theatrical release: July 11, 1997
DVD release: December 30, 1997
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: some intense action, mild language and a scene of sensuality