In Steven Spielberg’s extensive filmography you can find a little bit of everything: historical dramas, comedies, war films, action, science fiction and much more. His versatility and good work behind the cameras cannot be confused with impersonality, because although all his films have a clear vocation to reach the general public, the filmmaker has always included small signs of identity, especially in the recurring presence of various themes, such as the unstructured family or the relationship between the human and the unknown.
His new work is a return to one of his greatest obsessions: aliens. For this reason, it is inevitable to place it alongside two of his great films, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ and ‘ET’, in which, unlike much science fiction, aliens are not portrayed as something fearsome, but from a humanistic perspective. And that same look is what marks ‘The Day of Revelation’, an ambitious, fascinating and imperfect film (and proud to be so).
It is difficult to summarize the plot without revealing it, but what Spielberg poses is, mainly, a question: what would happen if it were discovered that there is a multitude of archival material that evidences alien life and that has been hidden from the population for decades by a powerful company?
From here, the veteran director draws a parallel with our time, reaching the outrageous conclusion that we will never be certain that what politicians and those in high places tell us is true. Keeping the population ignorant and dazed by mobile phones is the simplest option, although obviously not the most ethical. In ‘The Day of Revelation’ he constantly flies over this dilemma, which the filmmaker reinforces with the inclusion of religion. Alien life would destroy the entire foundation on which society has been built, but is that a bad thing per se? As much as Spielberg questions religious faith, the film thrives because he never loses faith in humanity.
Beyond deep reflections, there is a sense of spectacle, fun and originality. Even if the script takes certain licenses that can jeopardize its verisimilitude, Spielberg manages to ensure that there is intrigue at all times and that it is not known exactly what is going to happen next. Unlike his other recent films, ‘The Day of Revelation’ reaches emotion in a more genuine way and from an unexpected place (the resolution of the connection between both protagonists is magnificent). The light touches of humor are also well achieved thanks, in part, to its improbable but effective cast, which includes Josh O’Connor, who always brings tenderness to all his characters, and especially Emily Blunt, who moves with ease in a complicated line between the dramatic and the parody.
‘The day of revelation’ is full of ideas and daring, but above all, a personal stamp that has not always been seen so clearly. Here we find a good part of the themes and concerns that have marked Spielberg’s career, forming a strange mixture of all his cinema, with its highs, its lows and its classic sense of wonder. It is a slightly alien work. And yes, this is a compliment.
