It’s an often forgotten science fiction film and yet it’s one of the best. You can now catch up on it on the MAX platform.
When we think of the best science fiction films, there are some must-see titles that come to mind quite quickly and that are found in many moviegoers’ rankings. You only have to see the ranking according to the stars awarded by the members of the AlloCiné community.
It includes films such as Interstellar, Inception, Back to the Future, Star Wars, Avatar, Metropolis, Alien, Dune, Gattaca and Blade Runner, with scores exceeding 4/5.
There are, however, underrated SF films that deserve to be seen or recognized and that have passed under certain radars. The feature film that has just joined the MAX platform catalog is one of them and we advise you to (re)discover it urgently.
One of the most inventive shots in cinema
This science fiction film is by Robert Zemeckis, known for Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Cast Away and The Polar Express. In 1995, the director was approached to direct the adaptation of the novel Contact by Carl Sagan published in 1985. He initially refused but finally accepted a year later, after the project was rejected by George Miller, on condition of total artistic control.
Robert Zemeckis rewrote the script for Contact and took full ownership of the story and aesthetic vision of the film, which was released in 1997. The film stars Jodie Foster as Ellie Arroway, a brilliant young astronomer and researcher who has been passionate about the universe since childhood.
One day, while she is watching for a sign of extraterrestrial intelligence with a small team of researchers, she receives a message that she will try to decipher in order to establish contact with this alien species.
Warner Bros.
Supporting roles include Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, William Fichtner, John Hurt and David Morse.
Contact is a psychological science fiction film that gradually takes hold of you, questions your beliefs about the extent of the universe and about intimacy with crazy staging ideas, like the famous mirror scene.
The scene in question is of young Ellie (Jena Malone) running up the stairs of her house to the bathroom. We first see her running in front of the camera, then we see her opening the bathroom cabinet through the mirror. We let you (re)discover the sequence below.
This is a fake sequence shot since two shots were shot and assembled, with the first added in post-production on the blue background cleverly placed on the mirror during filming, as special effects artist Ken Ralston explained in an interview for vfxblog.
It’s one of the most brilliant productions in cinema and can be found in Contact, which we recommend you catch up on.
The film “Contact” is available on the MAX platform.
