Video. Cinema: with “Disclosure Day”, in theaters this Wednesday in France, Steven Spielberg once again turns his gaze to the stars

There was “The Fabelmans” (2022), an autobiographical feature film about his childhood, “AI Artificial Intelligence” (2001) and “Close Encounter of the Third Kind” (1977), already reflecting his obsession for potential contact between humans and a species from elsewhere. “Disclosure Day” tells the story of a whistleblower (Josh O’Connor) seeking to reveal to the world a state secret: the existence of extraterrestrials. A weather presenter (Emily Blunt), victim of unexplained phenomena, will find herself involved in this revelation which shakes up the beliefs of humanity.

The origins of a fascination

“It’s obvious that there is hope on the part of Steven Spielberg, that beyond ourselves and the Earth, there are other possibilities,” explains director Laurent Bouzereau, close to the filmmaker who has directed numerous making-ofs of his Works. Steven Spielberg, 79, remained marked by the spectacle of a meteor shower which he witnessed as a child in the company of his father, in the middle of a summer night.

The idea for “Disclosure Day” appeared to him after reading a New York Times article published in 2017, revealing the existence of a secret Pentagon program responsible for investigating UFOs. The anticipation surrounding this film is immense because “he is the filmmaker who has most participated in the construction of a collective imagination with aliens”, observes journalist Nicolas Schaller, author of “Spielberg, La Totale”.

A major figure in science fiction

He “revolutionized the genre of science fiction,” adds director Clément Safra, author of a dictionary on the work of Steven Spielberg. “He was the first to imagine that extraterrestrials could come in peace,” with “Meeting the third type,” he adds. In this film, humanity finds itself confronted with paranormal phenomena before managing to establish contact with these visitors through music.

“When it comes to alien films, Steven Spielberg has directed two classics (“Encounter” and “ET”) and one great success (“War of the Worlds” with Tom Cruise, released in 2005),” explains the writer Ian Nathan, author of several books on cinema, including one on Steven Spielberg. The first two portray ordinary people confronted with the extraordinary, with, as is often the case with the director of “Jaws”, the theme of family as a backdrop.

Thematic evolution and commercial issues

“Today’s Spielberg is much more aware of the political context,” says Ian Nathan. “War of the Worlds”, about a divorced father who tries to protect his two children from an alien invasion ravaging the Earth, is a metaphor for September 11, an event which marked the director. “Disclosure Day” reworks all the themes dear to Steven Spielberg, namely childhood, family, tolerance and wonder in the face of the unknown, by adding contemporary subjects such as the growing power of private companies over people’s lives.