A friend of mine mentioned ‘Contact’ was the perfect film. I thought about it for some time and found that I agree. The plot, casting, filmography, and score are all top notch.
Beyond favorite there are quite a few films I consider ‘done’ we don’t need sequels or remakes. Most recently the original ‘Willy Wonka’ came to mind.
And also an insightful YouTube comment(!) someone made in response describing their interpretation:
spoiler
"This is one of the most thoughtful and insightful reviews on deeper film meanings I think I’ve ever seen. In keeping with the rebirth symbolism, I would offer the following possibilities.
The transport pod symbolizes more of a womb, rather than a gas chamber.
The chair may not be an electric chair but rather a means for Ellie to assume a modified fetal position while in the capsule. This would mimic the position of a baby of in a womb prior to its own birth.
The wires plugged into Ellie represent an umbilical cord to sustain her, rather than a means to kill her.
The periodic updates given by the mission control staff as to the status of the machine (10%, 20%, 30%, etc.) mirror the increasing dilation of women in labor (1 cm dilated, 2cm dilated, 3cm dilated, etc.).
The wormhole sequence mirrors the new life traveling through a birth canal.
The capsule takes on a liquid form to symbolizes the protective amniotic fluid to keep the new life safe.
After Ellie’s “birth”, the first person she sees is her father.
This rebirth scene is enhanced by considering Ellie’s mother died from complications of childbirth when Ellie was born. This backstory enhances Ellie’s natural reluctance to be reborn as her initial birth killed her mother, and permanently altered her life.
There’s undeniably imagery of execution and rebirth simultaneously occurring within the same frames! The filmmakers did an outstanding of capturing some very compelling storytelling while inserting remarkable symbolism."
I like it, but it’s also a movie where world leaders act in the most unrealistically stupid way possible. It’s where emotions take more precedence than any actual pretense of diplomacy. Humans being gaslit into allies by future-seeing aliens is also a bit too deterministic to be seen as any kind of moral victory either. I dunno, not a movie for me
A friend of mine mentioned ‘Contact’ was the perfect film. I thought about it for some time and found that I agree. The plot, casting, filmography, and score are all top notch.
Beyond favorite there are quite a few films I consider ‘done’ we don’t need sequels or remakes. Most recently the original ‘Willy Wonka’ came to mind.
I love the line “They should have sent a poet”
There’s a video by a designer talking about some of the symbolism of Ellie’s journey (Full talk video here – SPOILERS for the film in both).
And also an insightful YouTube comment(!) someone made in response describing their interpretation:
spoiler
"This is one of the most thoughtful and insightful reviews on deeper film meanings I think I’ve ever seen. In keeping with the rebirth symbolism, I would offer the following possibilities.
There’s undeniably imagery of execution and rebirth simultaneously occurring within the same frames! The filmmakers did an outstanding of capturing some very compelling storytelling while inserting remarkable symbolism."
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
symbolism of Ellie’s journey
Full talk video here
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Great movie. If you haven’t, you should check out Arrival (2016).
I like it, but it’s also a movie where world leaders act in the most unrealistically stupid way possible. It’s where emotions take more precedence than any actual pretense of diplomacy. Humans being gaslit into allies by future-seeing aliens is also a bit too deterministic to be seen as any kind of moral victory either. I dunno, not a movie for me