This movie is usually considered one of Spielberg's best, and I have to agree on some aspects. The direction and shots are breathtaking, the use of light is brilliant, but some of the conflicts should have been more developed. The screenplay is mostly good, but not the best thing about the movie. The three story lines balance each other. My favorite was the one with the little kid, and my least favorite the one with Richard Dreyfuss playing Roy. I think the characters mostly lacked a background, which made them less believable. The dialogs are very often clichéd, but they can sound cute. The pace is amazing; the stories take time, and all the pieces come together in the amazing ending, as if it was a circle closing itself slowly.
The storyline with the mother (Melinda Dillon) and the young son was brilliant and remarkable. This is the one where you can most easily relate to the desperation and confusion of the mom, so the characters are really well written. It's the one with more suspense and it's pretty gripping, too. The story of Roy, his obsession and his family is not so good. I mean, I liked the way the relationship with his wife is portrayed, but his obsession is too sudden and childish, so unbelievable. Claude Lacombe and his investigators is just the technical story; its characters have close to no development, and all they do is explaining you in a concrete way what's happening.
The shots and special effects are both great and the best thing of the movie. Every sci-fi shot is fascinating, and the use of music in those is mind blowing. Just the way the ending scene is done makes the movie much better and very thought provoking. The use of light and darkness is brilliantly surprising; the ETs are signed with a hard to look at light, and the rest of the time, there's mostly darkness. The UFO's are just lights of different colors, and that works. The special effects are mostly light, but the control of the wind and perfection with which everything's done make the stunning.
The acting is good by Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr and Cary Guffey. The first one shows such a desperation and affection that you can only like her and root for her. Teri Garr portrays the not understanding wife, and she does that amazingly. I found myself connecting more with her than with Roy, who was just mad. Cary Guffey had the right cuteness and fresh look to make you love his character, and he has a good delivery for someone so young. Richard Dreyfuss is quite ridiculous, because he just sounds mad and I could barely connect with him. The actors from François Truffaut segment weren't bad, but they didn't have much to do.
The cinematography was truly great, with all the impressive lighting, and the editing makes all ends meet beautifully. In the end, this is not a very equilibrated movie, but technically it's a masterpiece and it has one of the best endings ever.
The storyline with the mother (Melinda Dillon) and the young son was brilliant and remarkable. This is the one where you can most easily relate to the desperation and confusion of the mom, so the characters are really well written. It's the one with more suspense and it's pretty gripping, too. The story of Roy, his obsession and his family is not so good. I mean, I liked the way the relationship with his wife is portrayed, but his obsession is too sudden and childish, so unbelievable. Claude Lacombe and his investigators is just the technical story; its characters have close to no development, and all they do is explaining you in a concrete way what's happening.
The shots and special effects are both great and the best thing of the movie. Every sci-fi shot is fascinating, and the use of music in those is mind blowing. Just the way the ending scene is done makes the movie much better and very thought provoking. The use of light and darkness is brilliantly surprising; the ETs are signed with a hard to look at light, and the rest of the time, there's mostly darkness. The UFO's are just lights of different colors, and that works. The special effects are mostly light, but the control of the wind and perfection with which everything's done make the stunning.
The acting is good by Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr and Cary Guffey. The first one shows such a desperation and affection that you can only like her and root for her. Teri Garr portrays the not understanding wife, and she does that amazingly. I found myself connecting more with her than with Roy, who was just mad. Cary Guffey had the right cuteness and fresh look to make you love his character, and he has a good delivery for someone so young. Richard Dreyfuss is quite ridiculous, because he just sounds mad and I could barely connect with him. The actors from François Truffaut segment weren't bad, but they didn't have much to do.
The cinematography was truly great, with all the impressive lighting, and the editing makes all ends meet beautifully. In the end, this is not a very equilibrated movie, but technically it's a masterpiece and it has one of the best endings ever.