Close Encounters is awesome, and not in the teenage slang conception of the word, but in the original, romantic conception; it is a beautiful, grand film that inspires both fear and child-like wonder. It begins with five lost World War II planes reappearing, unscathed in Mexico during a sand storm and shifts to Middle America where a small town has a series close encounters with a set of brilliant, gyrating, colorful UFOs. As a handful of awe-struck individuals attempt to make sense of their experiences, a team of government scientists race to understand when and where the UFOs will next appear. But the plot is secondary to the dazzling, other-worldly special effects, executed expertly by Spielberg himself. The elegant spaceships and surreal lights are even more wonderful and frightening when contrasted with the cluttered aural and visual human world. In a particularly nerve-wracking scene, Barry, a small child opens his front door onto the vivid orange glow of the space ship. He stands there, silhouetted in the doorway while the psychedelic fire burns outside and a dark room crowded with furniture waits inside. The mundane comfort of the living room can only highlight the beautiful, intoxicating, frightening display that swirls outside the door. Likewise the human world is filled with garbled dialogue, background noise and snippets of foreign languages but the space ships emit only a graceful, five-tone melody. It is this exquisite contrast that creates a sense of overwhelming terror and wonder, of surprise and admiration and dread, in short a sense of awe. The final climax reveals a bit too much and lasts a bit too long, diffusing some of the built up tension, but this is a minor sin in an otherwise great film. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is the perfect family film, a science fiction masterpiece, and a special-effects miracle; it is a must see movie. (3.5/4)
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