Contact

(Robert Zemeckis, US 1997, 150 min., 35mm)

Carl Sagan’s speculative fiction bestseller is adapted with Jodie Foster taking on the role of Ellie Arroway. Ellie’s long-term fascination with the endlessness of space leads to her becoming a brilliant astrophysicist and working with SETI (the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence), monitoring the cosmos for transmissions. When a consistent signal is discovered coming from the Vega system, it sends Ellie on an adventure to build a machine that may make space travel possible. She is balanced on this quest by religious leader Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey) who points out that both religion and unknown science involve leaps of faith.