hey what's up guys
today I'll show you a science fiction drama film: "Contact "
spoiler ahead, watch out and take care
Ellie lost her mother when she was very young, and her father took care of her
From childhood, Ellie has been intrigued by astronomy and radio signals
It is her wish to communicate with an alien civilization
Unfortunately, her father died of illness when she was only 9 years old
The Priest told Ellie it was God's will, and she just had to accept it
But Ellie thought otherwise
She blamed herself for placing the rescue medicine out of her father's reach
This incident alone proves that Ellie believes in science, not God
Years later,
Dr.Ellie is tasked with Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program
at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico
Unfortunately, due to policy changes, her project is terminated before making any progress
She intends to continue the SETI project at the Very Large Array
But the huge budget turns down many investors
Only one tycoon agrees to pump in money
Tycoon is particularly mysterious, and he does not meet Ellie in person
He only communicates with her through the surveillance system
Despite his obscure identity, Ellie is really grateful for his help
In the following four years, Ellie has shifted the research work to the Very Large Array;
but she does not receive any meaningful signals
The futile research has upset the team members; and Ellie is no exception
A few years back, Ellie fell in love with a man named Joss
Contrary to Ellie's belief, Joss has pursued his master's degree in Theology, and he works for charity projects
Despite their vast difference, the two fell in love at first sight
However, as Ellie encounters setbacks in her career, she cuts off contact with Joss
One night, Ellie hears abnormal noises from her headset
Excited, she summons the whole team to investigate the signal
They confirm that it is sent from Vega, which is located 26 light-years away from the Earth
Deciphering the signal, they get a series of numbers
Though clueless, they make announcements about the discovery
The next day, various delegations from government agencies stream into the station to investigate the situation
Ellie shares her thoughts aliens choose to send them numbers, because numbers are a universal language
She supposes these numbers do not bear any meanings, but rather,
they are like message alerts to inform us that a new message is arriving
As soon as she finishes her words, the office is swept under chaos
The aliens send them a second message
This time around it is an image
Connected to the TV, they see a strange swastika
Zooming out, it unfolds the speech of Adolf Hitler
Scientists well-versed in German-language confirms it as the speech,
given at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games opening ceremony
Shocked, Civil servants immediately know they have to escalate the matter to the President
However, through further research,
Ellie assures the paranoid politicians that the message has no political implications
She explains that the 1936 Olympic broadcast was the first television signal sent into space
It takes several decades to reach Vega, and another several decades to send back to Earth
Most likely, this message indicates that they have well received the broadcast
Ellie concludes that aliens have no ill intention
Soon after, Ellie's teammates report new progress
The original video only has 25 frames per second
But the one sent from Vega has 50 frames per second
The extra part is extracted out, and found to be containing more than 63,000 pages of data
Such a huge volume suggests that it must contain valuable information
However, it is encrypted; and no one is able to decipher it
Overnight, the news about aliens sending signals to the Earth,
has gone viral and hence brought great changes
Hitler's fans roam on the street for celebration
The number of Christians is growing
However, heated debates spark off between scientists and theologians
Ellie's workplace, Very Large Array, has been crowded by visitors
Most of the people are here to join in the fun
They take this chance to go on a spree
Among them, there is a cult spreading the nonsense message
Ellie has mixed emotions watching them
She realizes the urgency to decode the alien data
When Ellie finishes her day without making any breakthroughs,
she receives a mysterious message from Tycoon
An appointment is scheduled at midnight in Tycoon's private jet
This is the first time Ellie to meet Tycoon in person
He tells her that many enemies are preying on his life; and now he is dying soon
Before his life comes to an end, he wishes to do something great for the world
To cut it short, he has extracted the alien data from Ellie's lab, and sorts out a solution
The data appears to be flat; but Vega civilization adopts a multi-dimensional perspective
So they have to merge the existing data into a 3D model
That way, Ellie infers that it contains technical blueprints
Apparently, Vega aliens want to teach mankind how to build a gigantic machine;
but their purpose remains unknown
The government leader cannot decide whether to proceed with the construction
Ellie begins another round of persuasion
While dealing with the politicians, she finds someone very familiar among the panelist
He is no other than her ex-boyfriend Joss
It happens that Joss becomes a priest, and maintains a close relationship with the President
Though Ellie remains an atheist, the couple patch back
Vega's third message comes in during one of their dates: a man in a frame
Combining that with the previous messages,
they understand the aliens want them to build a transport according to the blueprint,
and send one occupant to Vega
The President decides to go ahead with the plan
Scholars are chosen to study alien technology
Ten candidates are shortlisted for the trip
Among them, only one person has the chance
Ellie stands in competition; and Joss sits in the panel
Privately, Joss discourages Ellie from taking the trip
The machine would allow her to travel at the speed of light
According to the theory of relativity, by the time she flies to Vega and comes back,
she will be four years older; and the Earth will have passed by more than 50 years
Until then, her peers would have all died
How lonely she would be
More importantly, this mission is way too risky
Ellie is clear of such a consequence;
but she is determined to go for her dream and the good of all mankind
Noting that she is even willing to die for this mission, Joss gives up on changing her mind
A few days later, the ten candidates are interviewed by national representatives;
and the whole process is broadcast live to the world
Ellie is most popular as the discoverer of the Vega signal
Unexpectedly, Joss poses a detrimental question, asking if she believes in God
Ellie upholds her composure, and carefully replies to him that as a scientist,
she sees great importance in evidence
So far, there is no evidence to prove or disprove God's existence
Although she tries to beat about the bush, the interviewers do not let go easily
They want a definite answer
Finally, one of them voices that an atheist cannot represent the 95% population, who are believers
Needless to say, Ellie fails the interview
The seat is given to another grey-haired scientist, who packages himself as a devout believer
Ellie questions Joss why he hinders her
Joss says that he cannot bear to have a non-believer going up to the space
Later, he admits that he is worried for Ellie,
and tries to prevent her from getting any form of harm
Sometime later, the space machine is finally built
Thousands and thousands of people have gathered to witness the launch
Based on the instruction, the seat will plunge from the top to the bottom, and go into a swing
It does not reveal what would take place after the rotation
The grey-haired scientist is leading the last simulation before the actual event
At this point in time, Ellie spots the cult leader infiltrated into the machine with bombs
Grey-haired scientist immediately deploys manpower to take him down
However, the cult leader detonates the explosives, and destroys the whole machine
In the end, Grey-haired scientists and many more staffs have died in the explosion
Ellie returns home with a heavy heart
But a Russian message changes the course of her day
It is a video call from two Russian astronauts
Behind them, Tycoon stays in the spaceship
It turns out that Tycoon is cancer-stricken,
and could only sustain his life in a low-oxygen and low-gravity environment
That is why he has paid the Russian government for a vacancy in the Russian space station
She is shown another machine in Japan
Tycoon has bought the Japanese construction company;
and he can appoint the astronaut to go into space
He wants Ellie to go
To avoid any hindrance, they have tightened up security measures,
and forbidden the public from watching
Ellie fastens her seat belt, and gets ready to go
During the warm-up, the cockpit trembled violently, and a strange light appeared
Ellie attempts to communicate with the mission control center, but to no avail
Then, the cockpit is cleared for launch
She repeats it dozens of times, until center ground finally hears it once
At the launch, the auxiliary frame is first released;
and two booster rockets are fired, spinning the ring at high speed
The light is too strong to see with naked eyes
When it is counted down to 10, the light becomes the brightest
It releases a huge amount of energy, which almost capsizes the command ship
10 seconds later, Ellie's cabin plunges into the wheel
Even though reception with the mission control center is cut off,
she continues to do a video recording of the unprecedented journey
Ellie feels as if she is falling into a swirl,
and moving forward through a tunnel at an immense speed
What awaits at the end of the tunnel is a star with traces of civilization
Ellie realizes that the tunnel is no other than a wormhole
Before Ellie could settle down, she enters another wormhole
The series of wormholes are lined up like some advanced subway tunnels
Apparently, they have been used as transportation channels in the universe
As soon as the cabin comes to a halt, Ellie arrives at a quad-galaxy
Over here, the stars shine brightly, indicating the presence of an alien civilization
Immediately after, Ellie is taken to another wormhole
This time around, it shakes even more violently than before
Ellie's seat flies to the top; and she can float up
As she looks out of the window, she is mesmerized by the breathtaking scenery
It is so beautiful that words cannot tell
Ellie wishes that she is a poet, so that she can express her wonder with human languages
In a flash, she finds herself standing on a beach
Stars shine brightly above her
Even though they seem so close, she cannot touch them with her hands
From a distance, someone is moving towards her
Ellie is very nervous at first
But as the man comes closer, she recognizes him to be her father
Filled with surprise and joy, Ellie throws herself into his arms
She cannot believe it is happening
Soon after, Ellie gains back her senses, and concludes that it must be a hallucination
She must faint in her own cabin on her way to Vega
Vega civilization retrieves her brain data, and creates such a hallucination
The reason why the alien appears to her in the form of her father,
is to make the first contact easier for her
In fact, this beach contains the fond memory of her childhood with her father
Surprisingly, the alien acknowledges her analysis
Ellie asks him many questions that she has about alien civilizations
She is curious who builds the wormhole, a transportation gateway in the universe
The alien tells her he does not know, either
It was already here before the Vega civilization began
Most likely, they are the legacy of an older civilization
Ellie also wonders if the Vega star would invite all other civilizations to visit them
The alien answers that they only invite human beings,
for they are very lonely beings trapped on Earth
The alien holds her hand, and shares that human beings should unite together,
to overcome the vain and meaningless lives
Ellie checks with him if other people could come to Vega for a trip
The alien replies that this meet-up is only the first contact
The second session will take place in the future
He emphasizes that she must be patient about it
At last, he gives her a goodbye kiss, just like what her father would do
Ellie has many questions unanswered
But she is awakened by very powerful lights
Her cabin drops into the water, leading to chaos in the mission control center
She hears the staff checking with her if she has any injuries
Ellie is confused about what time it is on Earth now
The mission control center informs her that the launch has failed;
and her cabin drops to the bottom
Ellie does not believe in what they say, and tries to prove her experience with the video
However, the video consists of nothing more than invalid content and noises
The mission control team plays their own observation video,
to testify that Ellie just plunges to the bottom
The whole journey only takes 1 second
Ellie reasons that based on the theory of relativity,
1 second on Earth is equal to 18 hours she spent in the universe
More importantly, she has made the first contact with the Vega civilization within 18 hours
During the debate, the panelists assert that the 18 hours are merely Ellie's hallucination;
and she cannot prove the existence of the Vega alien
And then, they question the authenticity of the radio signal
It could be a fake signal
Ellie denies such a claim,
explaining that it requires interdisciplinary expertise to encode such a signal,
and a satellite to send such a signal
She rules out the possibility that someone on Earth could fulfill these criteria
However, the official does not buy her smelly words
He mentions that it is very possible for a rich and knowledgeable man to create such a scam
Ellie is reminded of Tycoon, who has the ability to do so
He may want to make a mark in history; or he may actually want to benefit society
That is why he created Vega's signal trick, to unite humanity around a common goal
The official stresses that Ellie is deceived by Tycoon's perfect plan,
and experiences Self-reinforcing paranoia during the fall
Ellie feels powerless before such an accusation
But she has no evidence
Needless to say, the official's view is widely recognized
At last, Ellie softens down, saying that if she were the official,
she would not believe in it, either
In fact, even Ellie herself is not sure what is going on
But she persists that her cosmic journey is real;
and she hopes that everyone could have a chance to experience it
Still, no one trusts Ellie
Joss hugs a depressed Ellie
Out of the meeting hall, many citizens gather to support Ellie
A journalist asks for Joss' view on this matter
Joss says that even though they subscribe to different beliefs, they all seek the truth
He trusts in Ellie's account
Encouraged by Joss, Ellie continues to search for alien signals,
and inspires the younger generation to study astronomy
At the end of the movie, the official discovers that Ellie's video recording is an 18-hour blank,
which is consistent with her account of the 18-hour journey
This implies that Ellie's journey should be real
This's Daniel cc movie channel Peace out