Steven Spielberg's latest sci-fi blockbuster, Disclosure Day, marks a departure from his signature 'looking up' wonder, instead focusing on the human connection and empathy in a world where people are often too busy looking down.

The $30 million toe in the water

With a talented cast, including Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, and Colman Domingo, Disclosure Day is a true summer blockbuster that is worth seeing and cherishing.

Why 4,000 unsold units became the prize

The film is a gripping and thought-provoking thriller that explores the search for extraterrestrial life and the consequences of a decades-long cover-up .

What auditors flagged in the May filing

The story begins in media res, throwing us into a heist of highly classified material that's already well underway.

An echo of Sydney's 2024 institutional buy-up

The approach does make me reluctant to reveal anything but the most basic character setup ; the learning is part of the fun.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

Though the director has talked about drawing on his personal passion for the search for extraterrestrial life,the same passion that led to Close Encounters of the Third Kind almost 50 years ago,that manifests less in the plot specifics than as a burning need to ask questions and discover the answers.

What Emily Blunt does here is on another level

A story like that might typically stuff its cast with actors who excel in being enigmatiic and withholding, but with one notable exception, Disclosure Day is filled with emotionally open performances.

Josh O'Connor, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson shine

Each is essential to the particular combination of cynicism and hopefulness that defines this movie.

Broader context

Disclosure Day is a true summer blockbuster of the kind that only Spielberg can deliver,worth not only seeing (on the biggest screen you can find), but cherishing.

Open questions

What's more important, anyway, is why Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp, a frequent collaborator, chose to start Disclosure Day this way.

Why Spielberg chose to start Disclosure Day in media res

The narrative structure lights and stokes that same fire in us, banking on its third-act moments of revelation being enough to satisfy it.