Contact ending explained

What happens

Ellie's journey leaves no evidence: her capsule only seems to fall through the machine, and her recording shows static. At the hearing she can only ask to be believed. The film hints that her recording ran eighteen hours.

The last image

Ellie sits among a group of children at the Very Large Array, answering their questions about what she experienced.

What it says

Ellie spent her life refusing to take things on faith, and now she must ask others to do so. The ending lets her keep her science while accepting that some true experiences cannot be proved.