Good science fiction doesn’t become dated with the passage of time or advancements in technology. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is such a film. This film has aged well; it’s as effective today as ever, and its theme of the shared human fascination with what’s ‘out there’ remains relevant long after its release. While it doesn’t rise above its genre like 2001: A Space Odyssey does, it certainly accomplishes everything a sci-fi film can hope for.
This is a movie about an idea – an obsession – more than about a particular event or character. Richard Dreyfuss is the star and his character – Roy Neary – is at its centre. But this isn’t a character-driven movie (and that’s a good thing, because Roy isn’t the most compelling of characters). The script doesn’t devote much effort to getting to know him, as the ‘every-man’ electrical worker is really more of a prop than a character.
Roy becomes entangled in mysterious events one night when his truck – with Roy at the wheel – has a ‘close encounter’ with a strange phenomenon – bright lights, powerful noises, electrical disturbances and no certainty over what it all means. Others have comparable experiences, including a little boy and his mother, who are similarly terrified (the mother) and fascinated (the boy) by it all. After the visit, Roy is a changed man. In addition to an odd sunburn, he’s got a growing obsession with what happened, and with a strange shape that he can’t get out of his mind. Driven by forces he doesn’t understand, Roy – like others – is drawn to a secluded Montana mountain for a confrontation with… he doesn’t know what.
As Roy’s story unfolds, we also see a scientist (Francois Truffaut) visiting locations around the world where people have heard – and are repeating – an equally mysterious five note musical theme that seems to have come from outer space. Although it takes some time for it to be certain, we are indeed looking for aliens. And the aliens – never even seen ‘in the flesh’ in the original version of the movie – amount to much more than their minimal visible presence would suggest. They are by turns a focus for shock, fear, curiosity, obsession, and –ultimately – wonder. It’s not their flesh that fascinates us, or even their actions; it’s their possibility.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is thrilling and fascinating and succeeds in inspiring wonder in its audience. You don’t need to be a science fiction addict to love this film – it’s a mystery, a suspense-thriller, a drama, momentarily a horror flick, and sometimes even a comedy. It raises the spectre not only of something being out there, but also of that ‘something’ being benign.
Like Spielberg’s intense Jaws, this film benefits from his restraint – for most of the movie, we’re not sure if there really are aliens, let alone why they’re here. But by the end, we’re swept away by the wonder of discovery; it’s enough to thrill even a sci-fi sceptic.
