Well I think a film can tackle religious themes without getting tangled up in religion. That is...the church doesn't have a monopoly on Christian/Catholic thought, if you know what I mean. You can work out all of these issues in the realm of atheism, agnosticism, secularism, etc. In fact it's probably wise to do so.One fascinating aspect of this thread has been the raising of crypto-religious imagery and themes. Yet if you look at a range of sci-fi authors (and I'm not that knowledgeable in this area) for the most part you find the material frequently verges on "metaphysical" but very rarely into strait out religion. Dear old Carl Sagan even raises the flag for atheism in another Warner title CONTACT. Unfortunately the movie goes all weak in the knees putting poor Jodie Foster through some sort of inquisition over her disbelief in God (would this realistically happen even in America?) Maybe I am reading this wrong and the trial sequence is meant to show the power of the Totalitarian religious right??
I do think in Philip Dick's titles on flm (and the Aldiss/Kubrick/Spielberg AI) invocations of godly aspiration, resurrection etc are made very much in the absence of god or religious belief. Another thread altogether might be the so-called "religious" or spiritual cinema of Bresson, Dreyer, Ozu, even Rossellini. Any takers?
I don't think Contact went weak in the knees. It was pretty ballsy, what it ended up doing with regards to spirituality and religion. Just my opinion. Also Jodie Foster was never better.