Great
Rating: 10 of 10 
First let me say that I wasn't really a fan of Jodie Foster's. Then let me say I didn't really want to watch this movie. I was on summer vacation in Las Vegas, we stayed in the 'Circus Circus' hotel and I chose to walk to the MGM cinema at the far south end of the Strip. It took me about 40 minutes at about 100 degrees to get there, and I wanted to watch 'Air Force One', but reconsidered because my sister wouldn't want to watch 'Contact', rather AF1, so I chose to choose 'Contact'. My first notice was that they played Mozart before the movie started. That really surprised me, because in Germany they run nasty commercials instead, mostly for alcohol and cigarettes.
So I was relaxed when the film started, the air condition had already made me feel better. Then the opening sequence came. Wow! (I don't usually use this word, so please notice this as something important) It was terrific, and I instantly began to like the film. It was such a straight story - the life story of a girl obsessed with the stars. For Tom Skeritt, his character seemed to be a chance for him to get away with his Sheriff Brock image. I haven't yet read the book by Carl Sagan but I will when I have the time. So I can only comment on the film story.
I don't like this idea of the way space travel shall be possible, and I don't think this is realistic. We will have starships that can travel faster than light. I'm sure about that. But then this wasn't the way the message of the film was about. This is not a film about contact with aliens. Not about space travel at all. It is a film about belief, about very personal belief. She argues that she cannot think God exists because there is no evidence, she on the other hand is a scientist. But then, at the end, she does believe what she saw - even if there is no obvious evidence (For sure there is - the tape contains hours of static, not just seconds).
The suspense that is build within the movie is terrific. There are those moments that can make the viewer really nervous. That is the appearance of the signal as well as the scene where the solution is discovered as well as the scene where the second machine is revealed. Those moments make me loose my words, and I believe this film succeeded to be one of my favorites.
March 11th, 1998 / August 15th, 2002
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