Close Encounters of the Third KindLanguages vary, but the need to communicate is universal. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a science fiction film about several people whose lives are affected by the sudden surge of UFOs across the globe, and the associated, unexplained phenomena that comes with it. Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) is a family man who encounters a flying saucer en route to a job one night. Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) is a single mother on a rural farm in Indiana, living with her young son, Barry (Cary Guffey). And Claude Lacombe (François Truffaut) is a leading researcher on the influx of aliens. The three of them (and others) find their calling one night in the shadow of Devils Tower in Wyoming.
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A significant part of Close Encounters of the Third Kind is devoted to everyday episodes in Roy's family, including those involving his wife, Ronnie (Teri Garr). Most science fiction movies use these moments as little more than a subplot or ancillary background; Roy's close encounter with the flying saucer is the catalyst that causes his family life to collapse. The first time we see Roy and his family, they are playing with a train set, while Roy is trying to teach his son fractions. They debate about going out for "Goofy Golf" or to see Pinocchio in the theaters, and Roy advocates for the movie. (Writer and director Steven Spielberg has said that Pinocchio was an influence on this film, and can be felt in the climax of the movie, with the saucers resembling shooting stars.) The scene in the cramped living room is full of constant action; another son is loudly banging a doll against the railing of a crib (as kids do), and the family is talking over each other. It has the frenetic realism of an actual family arguing about something so mundane as what to do on a Friday night. Roy is an electric linesman, and he gets called out after a massive blackout rolls through his suburb in Indiana. While he is stopped at a railroad crossing, checking his maps, he has his close encounter with the true culprit of the blackout in a spectacular visual gag--one of several alien ships that cause radical fluctuations in electricity and magnetics. Roy is "marked" by the visitors (in the form of his unique "sunburn"), and his home life begins to unravel. He appears to suffer a nervous breakdown brought on by his obsession with the alien visitors. His living room is strewn with newspaper clippings about alien sightings, and he takes a visibly uncomfortable Ronnie to a meeting with government officials to get answers about what he and others saw that night. He is fired from his job under suspicious circumstances, and his trance-like incidents involving molding shaving cream and mashed potatoes begin to scare his family. From the point of view of an outsider--like their befuddled neighbor--Roy is losing his mind. But the audience has the benefit of having witnessed this event with Roy; he is not "crazy", but he is scared and out of control after some interstellar message has been branded on his brain, one that leads him to his destined meeting in Wyoming months later.
Roy discovers that he is not alone in this confusing trial when he meets Jillian, who he first encountered on the night he was visited by the aliens. This happens after he almost hits Barry with his truck, while the boy is wandering along the road toward a convergence of people prepared for the aliens' imminent arrival. Jillian is affected by this encounter in a different way than Roy. She lives on a quiet farm in Muncie, Indiana, and becomes obsessed with drawing pictures of Devils Tower--so much so that it annoys her and she starts throwing away her artwork. She recognizes this obsession was implanted in her, and also sees it as a curse, unbalancing her quiet life in the country. But both of them--and others--find themselves making the trek to Devils Tower after seeing a television broadcast about a purported nerve gas explosion in the area. This story is fabricated by the government so that they can meet with the aliens undisturbed at the coordinates interpreted by the cartographer and translator to Lacombe, David Laughlin (Bob Balaban). Lacombe observes that people like Roy and Jillian are probably not so rare, and that they--and the others who defied the warnings of lethal exposure to nerve gas--represent those chosen by the aliens. This means that the aliens want to be heard and understood by the people of Earth, and they have been trying to speak to and learn from us. There are many instances in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where a television or radio is turned on when the aliens show up, designed to put people like Roy and Jillian on the path to meet them. It is as if the aliens were trying to understand how we absorb information and communicate with one another, using that as a "language". This is conveyed in the "five notes" which represent a greeting to the people of Earth; it is sung by a collection of people in India, interpreted as sign language, and played on a keyboard with a multicolored visual display in the fated encounter at the end of the film. Just as the aliens try to talk to us, men like Lacombe try to bridge that communication gap as well.
Scenes depicting the alien encounters are intense and startling, but they do not usually come across as malicious or threatening; one notable exception is when Jillian tries to protect Barry from being abducted. This speaks to accounts of terrifying abductions, which is by definition suggests a forceful act; Barry never appears scared of the aliens, although the scene is designed so that the audience is empathetic with Jillian's terror. This alludes to the absence of Barry's father, suggesting that Barry is not the first family member who has been "taken" from her before their time. Close Encounters of the Third Kind includes curious scenes from the start that speak to the inscrutable motivations of the aliens. For example, Lacombe and Laughlin discover a set of intact World War II aircraft that have suddenly manifested in the windy desert of Mexico, with no signs of the pilots to be found. A more provocative scene involves a long-missing ocean vessel that has suddenly appeared in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia--a place where it would be physically impossible for it to end up. What could these scenes have to do with the aliens, aside from representing them as strange pranksters? It is possible that these space invaders have a warped sense of humor; when Roy chases them across state lines into Ohio, the aliens are essentially out on a "joy ride"--even the confused toll booth operator shouts at them that they owe the tollway a quarter. It is more likely that they consider this to be the best way to make their presence known intelligent people who would seek them out, and to avoid exposing themselves to the military might of a scared or defensive world. This suggests that the aliens understand how others perceive them; it is also a metaphor for the different ways one culture tries to connect with another. The final scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind speaks to this in their cautious effort to figure one another out, trying different ways to communicate, with both factions working to bridge the gulf between them. It is an optimistic message, one that acknowledges that trust makes one vulnerable and the process to get there is a scary one. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is rare among science fiction films--it depicts two different cultures, who may not immediately understand one another, finding common ground because both are sympathetic and willing to extend a hand to one another.
Recommended for: Fans of a science fiction movie which embraces few cliches of the genre to tell a story about alien encounters and the lives of those affected by them. Close Encounters of the Third Kind has recently celebrated its fortieth anniversary, and the accompanying 4K remastering gives the film a fresh sheen that enhances the awe-inspiring sense of wonder that comes from watching the movie.
Roy discovers that he is not alone in this confusing trial when he meets Jillian, who he first encountered on the night he was visited by the aliens. This happens after he almost hits Barry with his truck, while the boy is wandering along the road toward a convergence of people prepared for the aliens' imminent arrival. Jillian is affected by this encounter in a different way than Roy. She lives on a quiet farm in Muncie, Indiana, and becomes obsessed with drawing pictures of Devils Tower--so much so that it annoys her and she starts throwing away her artwork. She recognizes this obsession was implanted in her, and also sees it as a curse, unbalancing her quiet life in the country. But both of them--and others--find themselves making the trek to Devils Tower after seeing a television broadcast about a purported nerve gas explosion in the area. This story is fabricated by the government so that they can meet with the aliens undisturbed at the coordinates interpreted by the cartographer and translator to Lacombe, David Laughlin (Bob Balaban). Lacombe observes that people like Roy and Jillian are probably not so rare, and that they--and the others who defied the warnings of lethal exposure to nerve gas--represent those chosen by the aliens. This means that the aliens want to be heard and understood by the people of Earth, and they have been trying to speak to and learn from us. There are many instances in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where a television or radio is turned on when the aliens show up, designed to put people like Roy and Jillian on the path to meet them. It is as if the aliens were trying to understand how we absorb information and communicate with one another, using that as a "language". This is conveyed in the "five notes" which represent a greeting to the people of Earth; it is sung by a collection of people in India, interpreted as sign language, and played on a keyboard with a multicolored visual display in the fated encounter at the end of the film. Just as the aliens try to talk to us, men like Lacombe try to bridge that communication gap as well.
Scenes depicting the alien encounters are intense and startling, but they do not usually come across as malicious or threatening; one notable exception is when Jillian tries to protect Barry from being abducted. This speaks to accounts of terrifying abductions, which is by definition suggests a forceful act; Barry never appears scared of the aliens, although the scene is designed so that the audience is empathetic with Jillian's terror. This alludes to the absence of Barry's father, suggesting that Barry is not the first family member who has been "taken" from her before their time. Close Encounters of the Third Kind includes curious scenes from the start that speak to the inscrutable motivations of the aliens. For example, Lacombe and Laughlin discover a set of intact World War II aircraft that have suddenly manifested in the windy desert of Mexico, with no signs of the pilots to be found. A more provocative scene involves a long-missing ocean vessel that has suddenly appeared in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia--a place where it would be physically impossible for it to end up. What could these scenes have to do with the aliens, aside from representing them as strange pranksters? It is possible that these space invaders have a warped sense of humor; when Roy chases them across state lines into Ohio, the aliens are essentially out on a "joy ride"--even the confused toll booth operator shouts at them that they owe the tollway a quarter. It is more likely that they consider this to be the best way to make their presence known intelligent people who would seek them out, and to avoid exposing themselves to the military might of a scared or defensive world. This suggests that the aliens understand how others perceive them; it is also a metaphor for the different ways one culture tries to connect with another. The final scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind speaks to this in their cautious effort to figure one another out, trying different ways to communicate, with both factions working to bridge the gulf between them. It is an optimistic message, one that acknowledges that trust makes one vulnerable and the process to get there is a scary one. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is rare among science fiction films--it depicts two different cultures, who may not immediately understand one another, finding common ground because both are sympathetic and willing to extend a hand to one another.
Recommended for: Fans of a science fiction movie which embraces few cliches of the genre to tell a story about alien encounters and the lives of those affected by them. Close Encounters of the Third Kind has recently celebrated its fortieth anniversary, and the accompanying 4K remastering gives the film a fresh sheen that enhances the awe-inspiring sense of wonder that comes from watching the movie.