“Moment of Contact”

(USA)

Rotten Tomatoes (3.5/5), Letterboxd (3.5/5), Imdb.com (7/10)

Stories of UFOs, ETs and the government coverups associated with them have become commonplace in today’s culture, in everything from specialty cable TV series to Coast to Coast AM radio to episodes of The X-Files, with narratives that are all remarkably and consistently similar. And now director James Fox’s new documentary has added its voice to this growing chorus of material on the subject, exploring the alleged 1996 crash of a UFO in Varginha, Brazil and the supposed escape of two extraterrestrial beings in the wake of that incident. Those already familiar with stories like this may not find this one especially revelatory, but those new to this subject matter are likely to see it as a well-organized, thoroughly explained accounting of an event that has become all too common over the past half century, especially in Brazil, a hotbed for this kind of activity. What’s perhaps most impressive about this offering is the tremendous corroboration that the filmmaker and his team of investigators have amassed from an array of sources, including firsthand witnesses, military officials, medical professionals and first responders, along with the commentary of noted ufologists. Admittedly, there are a few sequences on which the presentation of the material becomes needlessly repetitive and could stand some judicious editing, and Fox’s on-camera enthusiasm, though understandable, could still stand to be toned down a few notches. Nevertheless, the director has put together a production that comes across as highly credible and eminently convincing, telling a story that the world truly deserves to hear more about, especially from the official sources that have deliberately sought to quash it. After years of mounting anecdotal evidence and sustained conditioning worldwide, humanity is ready for the truth – and it’s high time we heard it.