The story follows Dr. Ellie Arroway (played by Jodie Foster), a passionate and brilliant radio astronomer who has spent her career searching for signs of intelligent life in the universe. Her dedication pays off when she detects a signal from the Vega star system: a series of prime numbers, followed by blueprints for a mysterious machine. The discovery stuns the world and sets off a whirlwind of political, scientific, and philosophical debates.

A multinational effort begins to decode and build the machine, which appears to be a one-person transport device. Ellie is eventually chosen to make the journey.When activated, the machine sends her through a series of wormholes to a distant star system, where she has a profound encounter with an alien intelligence that takes the form of her late father—an experience tailored to be emotionally accessible to her.

Upon returning, Ellie finds that no time appears to have passed and there’s no physical evidence of her journey, leading many to doubt her story. The film ends on an open, contemplative note, with Ellie holding onto her experience as a matter of personal truth—highlighting the film’s central theme: the tension and harmony between empirical science and human belief.

Contact is celebrated for its intelligent storytelling, strong performances, and deep philosophical undertones, remaining one of the most respected sci-fi films of the 1990s.