A report from the Paris premiere of the film
There are evenings that stay in our memory not only because we take part in an important film event, but because suddenly cinema, light, a crowd of fans, the red carpet and the very presence of a great director become intertwined with something much deeper: a question about our place in the universe.
A few days ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Paris premiere of Steven Spielberg’s film Disclosure Day. The director himself appeared at the event, along with Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo and Wyatt Russell, other main actors starring in the film. Spielberg’s presence alone gave the evening a special weight. It is a name that resonates powerfully in the history of cinema. Spielberg is not only a director — he is one of those creators who, for decades, has shaped our collective imagination.
And this time, he returns once again to one of his favourite themes: the encounter between humanity and the unknown.
E.T. for Adults? Or Perhaps a More Serious Version of Childlike Wonder
The first sentence I said after the screening was: “It is a bit like E.T. for adults.”
Or perhaps rather: a more serious, more mature version of the same wonder that once made the whole world fall in love with E.T. Because Spielberg has always known how to speak about enormous things in a soft, human and emotional way. Even when he tells stories about alien civilizations, he is really telling stories about us — about our fear, curiosity, loneliness, need for contact and hope that somewhere in the universe there is something more than silence.
Disclosure Day is a science fiction film, but not the kind that tries to overwhelm the viewer with effects or aggression. It carries Spielberg’s characteristic tenderness, an almost fairy-tale quality — not necessarily in the plot itself, but in the feeling, in the way the emotions are guided. It is cinema that is not only watched, but that stays somewhere under the skin.
We Are Not Alone — Is It Really So Hard to Believe?
The film naturally touches on the subject of alien civilizations. And although for many people this still sounds like fantasy, it is difficult to remain completely sceptical when we look at the vastness of the universe. If there are billions of galaxies, billions of stars and probably countless planets similar to Earth, is it really rational to believe that life arose only here?
It may frighten us. It may disturb our sense of security. But more and more often, the thought appears that perhaps we are not alone.
In recent years, the topic of UFOs, unidentified objects and unexplained phenomena has stopped belonging solely to the world of conspiracy theories. It is spoken about more and more seriously, calmly and openly. And perhaps that is precisely why films like Disclosure Day have a special meaning today. They do not only entertain and move us, but perhaps also help us become accustomed to an idea that not so long ago seemed too big, too strange, too uncomfortable.
Is science fiction cinema slowly preparing us for a greater message? It may sound bold. For some, even strange. But art has always been ahead of reality. First something appears in the imagination, then in stories, then in films, and only later do we begin to allow for the possibility that maybe it was not so impossible after all.
Aliens as a Threat — or as Another Form of Presence?
It is also interesting that we are increasingly moving away from the image of aliens as a hostile civilization. In the past, cinema often portrayed contact with another form of life as an invasion, a catastrophe, the end of the world. Spielberg has always approached this subject in a more subtle way.
In his films, aliens do not have to be monsters. They can be a mystery. They can be a mirror. They can be a question about spirituality, about God, about a greater order of things that we do not yet understand.
And this is exactly where Disclosure Day seems interesting. It does not reduce the subject to simple fear. It opens a space for reflection: what if the thing we fear has not come to destroy us? What if contact with another civilization would not be the end, but the beginning of a new stage of consciousness?
My Personal Experience with Something Unexplainable
I think many of us have had situations in life that we do not speak about out loud. Not because they are unimportant. On the contrary — perhaps precisely because they are too personal, too difficult to explain and too easy to mock.
I once had such an experience too. Something strange, something I still cannot fully name to this day. I do not talk about it often, because I myself have trouble believing it. But I remember very clearly three thoughts that appeared in my mind at that moment.
The first: why is it round?
The second: why is it in my home?
The third: why am I not afraid of it?
And perhaps this last question is the most important one. Because when we encounter something truly unknown, we would expect panic, terror, an instinct to run away. And yet sometimes something else appears: calm. A strange feeling that what we do not understand is not necessarily against us.
I do not know what my experience was. Nor am I trying to convince anyone. But after watching Spielberg’s film, it returned to me with new force. Perhaps because good cinema does not give us ready answers. It opens doors to questions we have been carrying within us for a long time.
Spielberg Still Knows How to Touch the Imagination
People say that Disclosure Day is one of Spielberg’s best films in many years. After the screening, I find it hard to disagree. It is a truly good film — beautifully constructed, engaging, full of that characteristic Spielberg sensitivity.
It is not only a story about aliens. It is a film about faith, intuition, fear of the unknown and the need to move beyond the limits of our own thinking. It can be watched simply for pleasure — as a beautifully made science fiction film. But one can also allow oneself a little reflection on a subject that is returning more and more often to public debate.
Are we alone?
Are we ready for contact?
Would humanity be able to accept a truth greater than anything we have imagined so far?
An Evening at Le Grand Rex and the Magic of a Premiere
The premiere itself at Le Grand Rex in Paris was an extremely interesting experience for me. The atmosphere of anticipation, the fans, the autograph hunters, the attempts to get as close as possible to the public area — it is a world of its own, one that could deserve a separate article.
But despite all the chaos and intensity of such events, there was something exciting about it. To see the actors live, the beautiful Emily Blunt, and above all Steven Spielberg — that is a truly special moment. As a photographer and a person creating a magazine about culture, fashion and art, I felt that I was close to something important. Not only to a film premiere, but to a living fragment of cinema history.
And although getting a ticket to such events is not always easy, that evening reminded me of one thing: if we truly want something, there is often a way to get there.
Is Disclosure Day Worth Watching?
Definitely yes.
It is a film that can be watched as a beautiful, emotional science fiction story. But it can also be treated as an invitation to a conversation about what we still do not know. About the universe. About other civilizations. About faith. About fear. About whether we are ready to accept that reality may be much bigger than it seems to us.
Spielberg once again does what he does best: he takes a subject that is enormous, almost unimaginable, and shows it through human emotion. Through wonder. Through unease. Through hope.
Disclosure Day leaves the viewer with a question that sounds simple, but is not simple at all:
What if we are truly not alone?
Perhaps the question “Are we alone in the universe?” is no longer the most important one. Slowly, it is being replaced by another — more unsettling and fascinating at the same time: who are those who may be watching us, and with what kind of attitude do they come toward humanity?