Movie Reviews

‘Moment of Contact’: UFO documentary about lesser known case

Passion and premise, but a lack of focus.

October 17, 2022

Moment of Contact begins like many other UFO documentaries. Narration explains how in 2021 the United States government was in talks with Brazil about UFO activity in the Brazilian skies. As it turns out, the film is not about these events. Instead, it is about a supposed crash in 1996. Filmmaker James Fox wisely chooses an event that is not as publicized as other reported sightings. This will make Moment of Contact new to audiences who just have a casual interest in extraterrestrial encounters. Even those who study UFO stories will probably find something different here as the incident in Varginha, Brazil is not often discussed.

Regrettably, Moment of Contact does little to bring in anyone who is not already interested in the subject. There is a tease of something different when the narrator promises “truth and lies”. It sounds like the beginning of an objective UFO investigation. As the film progresses, it becomes apparent that these “lies” are being told by people who are part of a larger cover up.

While this is disappointing, it is not a dealbreaker. After all, most documentaries about UFOs are more about convincing the audience than just telling a story. The pacing is less forgivable. Moment of Contact is almost two hours long, and feels every second of it. Aside from being split into chapters, there is no flow or rhythm. The end result is scenes drag on, or, even worse, feel completely unnecessary. This is most apparent in a frustratingly long section in which the crew visits the crash site with one of the witnesses from 1996.

What makes this more frustrating is Fox obviously did his research. His investigation takes him to a number of different places and his interviews range from politicians to residents in small neighborhoods. Fox is also persistent in trying to find out what really happened. Moment of Contact is at its best when it successfully gets this “thrill of the hunt” feeling across.

For all the good the film does, it may not do enough to draw in a new audience. Things often grind to a halt and Moment to Contact is littered with odd choices. (The 2021 incident from the opening is never revisited and the one interview from a brief look back at a possible UFO sighting from 1998 is with a child.) The subject is interesting and Fox seems to have the passion to solve it, but the missteps along the way are hard to ignore.