HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD OF CARL SAGAN? Not many? Well here’s your chance to understand a man, who refused to believe in anything but the truth, that which is presented to him by facts known to him. He was a man who refused to accept anything on faith. He refused to fathom the notion of an existence of the supernatural. He refused to be a part of the mass delusion. He was a man of science and engineering. A movie was made of his novel ’’Contact’’ starring Jodie Foster, Mathew McConaughey, James Woods and Tom Skerritt. It troubles me today to tell you that this movie that released in the summer of 1997 was overshadowed by a movie called ’’Men in Black’’. While the latter went on to be a massive hit, few people saw ’’’Contact’’. To those who can still hear me, let me tell you this. If you have’nt seen ’’Contact’’, you have not seen what filmmaking is all about. Never have I seen a film as exceptional as this. Never have I seen a film more inspiring (Shawshank Redemption will be redeemed too). Never have I seen a more intelligent film. Never have I seen a film that conveys so much to the human race. Never has there ever been a film made with such passion, such enthusiasm, and such incredible talent. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, this film is simply a masterpiece. I hope I can see such films again and more often. I have used these very expressions for a film by Manirathnam once, not long ago. But I have to admit, that this film is far superior to any I have seen before. People make too much fuss about the plot and the script of a film. Well, in case you want to know what this film is about, it is about a human being trying to reach out into space, having received what she believes is a message from an intelligent species that resides 26 light years away on VEGA. And so, she builds a means of transport using the messages she had recorded, and flies out into space and gets back safely too. I know people want to know more about the film. I know some of you will say that there is not enough here to describe the film. I am only going to tell you why you must see the film. The intention of this review is to make you watch the film. To give you reasons why you must watch the film. I dont intend to delve into the script, the characters, the music director etc. They are not my concern. I watched the film because of Jodie Foster. I think that she is the most accomplished actresses of of all time. She is the most believable. Anyone else in this role, and the film would fall flat on its face. Jodie Foster plays ’’Ellie Arroway’’, the young scientist who has always had an inclination to science. She plays this scientist who believes that there is life elsewhere in the universe. Her passion is unlimited and it is evident on the screen in the form of Jodie Foster. She plays what I think is Carl Sagan himself. She refuses to accept anything on ’’faith’’. She needs concrete evidence, a proof for everything. She is a rational and a scientific mind. And so, the film shows how she faces rough weather in trying to reach out into space, how the same people who refuse to fund her project, pull the carpet from underneath her feet when it actually succeeds. It shows the nature of the world, how politics and religion often eat into science. It also shows how Jodie Foster tries to come to terms with the notion of the supernatural being, its existence, how even in times when she is forced to believe and lie to herself about it, she does not. She holds on to her own beliefs, she does not accept, she does not change. She sticks to her guns only because they are the only thing rational to her. The film is a must watch for every engineer, especially dishonest ones. I know that most people in India have no other choice, but Science to study. It is a fact that most of India’s 19-25 year olds are into Engineering. It is also a fact that most of them are dishonest not because they themselves are, but because they have no intention whatsoever of being an engineer. Those of you, who are indeed still at a point of time, where you are undecided about your career, watch this film. Those of you, who are engineers who resort to compromising with honesty, those of you who need a reason, an inspiration, an example, an affirmation that yours indeed is a profession of the best minds of the world, watch this film. It will inspire you to the extent that a Kalpana Chawla never could.. Many people who have indeed seen the film have not understood its content. Most people I know have liked the film until the journey into space begins. After this point most people lose it. Those of you who have not understood it, read on. Those of who have not seen the film, you can too. The films shows how the extraterrestrial life contacts Jodie Foster in the form of her screen father. It so happens that the machine that they build to send ’’Ellie’’ into space actually does that, but is not perceived by the life on earth, because the rest of the world can only seen time relative as a few minutes as against the 18 hour journey that she actually goes through. And so, they can only assume that she was delusional, and that the machine had in fact failed, and had not sent her into space and there was in fact no extraterrestrial life in the first place and that it was all a hoax. However, at the end of the movie, a discovery is made of the 18 hour recording of the micro chip that ’’Ellie’’ takes into space that actually records 18 hours of static noise. This discovery although not made public in the movie, however answers all your questions as to whether she actually goes into space. If you can get yourself to watch this film, without prejudice as always, I will tell you this, you will enjoy the film more than you will have enjoyed a Forrest Gump, a Shawshank redemption and those kinda movies. After I have seen this film, as a man of science who understands the language of mathematics, the only truly universal language (as apart from what is popularly percieved to be English.... hell NO!), I can tell you that the film is without flaws, at least those that I cant detect with my knowledge of science at this point of time. The film is a treat. It is the most intelligent film I have seen in all my years here on Earth. lol..This is my last "review" here on mouthshut. I want to write and write what I want to and I will and I hope you will read what I write. But for now, I hope I have convinced you to watch this film. I hope you will.
Watch it alone. Do not watch it with a company that laughs at things it cant understand. Do not watch the movie with prejudice and pre-conceived notions about it. Do not watch the film with any man who is dumb. It is not meant for them. It is meant for you.