Contact

Contact

Year: 1978

Runtime: 10 mins

Language: Russian

Director: Vladimir Tarasov

Animation

A man walking on the fields encounters an alien visitor from outer space.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Contact yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Contact (1978)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Contact (1978). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Countryside, near a hill and a pond

A serene rural landscape on a sunny summer day frames the painter's stroll. He pauses by a hill and a picturesque pond, enjoying the quiet before the encounter. The peaceful setting highlights the sudden intrusion of the alien spaceship and the shift from solitude to unintended contact.

🌄 Rural 🖼️ Art 🌿 Nature

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:45

Main Characters – Contact (1978)

Meet the key characters of Contact (1978), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Painter

A gentle, nature-loving artist who finds joy in simple moments and shows compassion toward living creatures. He initially fears the alien's arrival but chooses curiosity over danger, teaching the visitor how to hum the tune he loves. His patience and openness become the bridge between two very different beings.

🎨 Artist 🫶 Compassionate 🧭 Curious

Alien

A friendly visitor who cannot rely on words, instead shapeshifting and humming to communicate. Initially mistaken for a threat, it gradually demonstrates curiosity and a desire to understand human culture. The alien's gentleness and willingness to copy and learn the painter's tune reveal a shared longing for connection.

👽 Alien 🌐 Universal 🎵 Curious

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:45

Major Themes – Contact (1978)

Explore the central themes of Contact (1978), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🎶 Communication

The story relies on music, gestures, and gaze rather than spoken language to convey meaning. The painter and the alien learn to understand one another through humming, timing, and shared movement. This universal language underpins their budding friendship and echoes Tarasov's idea that animation can be the Esperanto of humankind.

🤝 Connection

Fear gives way to trust as beings from different worlds bridge their differences. They exchange care, recover lost belongings, and eventually walk hand in hand, illustrating how empathy can flourish without words. The bond grows through patience and mutual curiosity, culminating in a quiet companionship.

🌍 Universality

The encounter emphasizes common ground across distinct lives: a human painter and a shapeshifting alien sharing a moment of beauty and understanding. The environment and music carry meaning more than dialogue, suggesting that art and melody can connect disparate species. The film presents communication and friendship as universal possibilities.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:45

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Peaceful first contact movies like Contact

Stories about non-hostile meetings with extraterrestrials that inspire wonder.Explore more movies like Contact that depict gentle, awe-inspiring alien encounters. If you enjoyed the serene and hopeful approach to first contact in Contact, you'll find similar stories here focusing on wonder, curiosity, and nonverbal communication with extraterrestrial beings.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically begin with a discovery or arrival, moving from initial apprehension to a profound sense of connection. The narrative arc resolves fear into mutual understanding, often through shared experiences like music, art, or simple gestures, culminating in a hopeful resolution.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on peaceful, non-aggressive alien interactions. They share a tone of hopeful curiosity, a deliberate pacing that allows for contemplation, and a central theme of bridging cosmic divides through empathy rather than force.

Meditative nonverbal storytelling movies like Contact

Films that rely on imagery and music to tell a gentle, emotional story.Find more films like Contact that use minimal dialogue and focus on visual and musical storytelling. If you liked the quiet, contemplative, and gentle narrative style of Contact, this collection offers similar movies where the story is conveyed through imagery, atmosphere, and emotion.

meditativequietvisualserenecontemplativeatmosphericgentle

Narrative Summary

Narratives in this thread unfold through a series of evocative images and sensory details. The plot is often straightforward, allowing the mood and visual metaphors to carry the emotional weight. Character journeys are internal and expressed through action and observation, leading to quiet but impactful resolutions.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their expressive, non-verbal approach to narrative. They share a slow, deliberate pacing, a light emotional weight, and a contemplative mood. The focus is on creating a specific, serene atmosphere that resonates on an emotional and sensory level.

Unlock the Full Story of Contact

Don't stop at just watching — explore Contact in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Contact is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Contact Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Contact, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Contact Summary

Contact Timeline

Track the full timeline of Contact with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Contact Timeline

Contact Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Contact that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Contact Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Contact

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Contact: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Contact

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