Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) is a very interesting entry in
Steven Spielberg’s grandiose filmography. It was made a few years before E.T the Extra-Terrestrial, in which only
one alien is stranded on Earth, and decades before War of the Worlds, in which the aliens come to our homes for
conquering. It was also made at a time when he was single, which might explain
why a character would decide to abandon his family in order to chase after
visitors from another world. A married Spielberg with kids might have made a
different movie.
In any case the
final product is one of his most regarded films due to the iconic music by
long-time collaborator John Williams and the stunning images courtesy of the
late cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. I can’t remember exactly when I first saw
Close Encounters from beginning to
end (I have my limits) but I do know there is a ceiling lamp in my mom’s
dinning room that awfully looks like the alien mothership. I also have John
Williams’ score in my music collection and give it a listen whenever I feel
like hearing a soaring film score.
Close Encounters is really the most optimistic imagining of a first
encounter with an alien species. I have heard brilliant scientists say such an
encounter could be like when European settlers first met with Native Americans.
We all know how that turned out. In Spielberg’s film the aliens do not come out
of the skies shooting lasers at innocent bystanders to start harvesting our
blood (that comes in a later film) but rather try to communicate with these
bystanders through music and numbers.
Before that
though they scare the world’s military powers by abducting people and by flying
awfully close to aircrafts and regular working Joes. One of them is Roy Neary
(Richard Dreyfuss) an electrical linesman from the state of Indiana whose life
is changed forever after a close encounter with a UFO. Although he only sees a
flying vehicle and no green men from Mars emerge from the craft, this every man
is transformed from the experience and becomes fixated on an image he can’t get
out of his head. Much to his family’s dismay he begins recreating the image
everywhere, from his mashed potatoes to a giant sculpture in the living room.
The image also
draws the attention of a mother (Melinda Dillon) looking for her son who
vanished one evening after walking into a bright light (one of the many scenes
referenced by Netflix’s Stranger Things). Some very smart government people are
also on the case given the high number of close encounters happening around the
globe. “Smart government people” almost seems like an oxymoron these days,
especially since one of the UFO experts is a Frenchman (renowned director
François Truffaut) working with the Americans thanks to the help of a
translator (Bob Balaban). That international cooperation is part of the film’s optimism,
which seems to be sorely lacking in today’s world.
All of the
different characters realize the alien race is using music to set up a meeting
of historic consequence in the Wyoming desert. This music is a five-note tonal
phrase, but as composed by John Williams those notes take on a life of their own.
Nowadays if you hear those five notes you can’t help but think of majestic
alien spacecrafts lit up like Christmas trees making first contact with the
human race.
Of course for me,
the music and the movie’s images can’t help but bring up happy family memories
since I keep thinking about the lamp in my mom’s dinning room. That Spielberg
sure knows how to create iconic images. It is a little sad he later chose to
depict hostile aliens in War of the
Worlds, which was clearly inspired by the horrors of 9/11. Given the
divisiveness we see almost every day in the world now, it would be nice for Close Encounters to be re-released in
theatres so we can once again see people from all over the world unite to
peacefully greet our neighbours from another planet.
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