Steven Spielberg’s 1982 film “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”, which was re-released in selected theaters in South Korea in this week, is a pure cinematic magic to behold even though more than 40 years passed since it came out. On the surface, it is a pretty modest science fiction adventure film, but it is filled with a lot of wonder, skill, and heart to be appreciated, and that is why it has been regarded as one of the greatest achievements in Spielberg’s long and illustrious filmmaking career.

While watching the film again at a local theater, I admired again how steadily the movie sticks itself to the viewpoint of its young hero. After the opening sequence showing how its titular alien figure happens to be left alone near a suburban area, the movie follows the accidental encounter between this alien figure and him, and it takes time as sensitively depicting the developing connection between these two very different characters. Although he is quite frightened at first, Elliot (Henry Thomas) soon becomes curious and sympathetic, and he eventually befriends this alien figure, which he incidentally calls “E.T.”.

Although we sometimes see a group of government agents searching for E.T., the movie mostly focuses on how Elliot comes to bond more with his alien friend along the story. Without telling anything to his divorced mother, he keeps E.T. inside their house, and his two siblings agree to go along with that, though their respective first encounters with E.T. are not exactly pleasant to say the least. Once they come to understand that E.T. really needs some help for getting back to the home planet, Elliot and his two siblings willingly plan to help their alien friend, and that leads to an amusing scene where E.T. gets disguised in a rather crude Halloween attire for avoiding any unnecessary attention.

During my viewing, I wonder again who E.T. really is and what this alien character thinks and feels about his extraordinary circumstance on the Earth. Yes, this alien character has certainly been remembered as one of the most memorable alien creatures in the movie history, and you may scratch your head a bit if you reflect more on many mysterious sides of this alien character. For example, is E.T. male or female? And how old actually E.T. is compared to Elliot? Above all, when E.T. gets connected with Elliot in more than one way, is this actually just a survival strategy instead of merely being much closer to Elliot?

Regardless of whatever you and I think about those elusive matters with this alien character, the screenplay by Melissa Mathison follows the logic of fairy tale while not explaining too much to us, and we come to accept that without any question mainly thanks to Spielberg’s masterful handling of story and characters. He trusts us to understand that Elliot just follows what he sincerely feels about his alien friend, and he effortlessly makes us empathize more with Elliot’s viewpoint along the story. As a matter of fact, the camera of cinematographer Allen Daviau often stays around the level of Elliot’s viewpoint, and that gives us several memorable shots while we become more aware of how those government agents get closer to Elliot and his alien friend.

Things certainly become quite tense and serious around the last act, but the movie still maintains its fairy tale qualities even at that point. When Elliot’s mother reads to her daughter a certain part of J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” at one point early in the story, this moment feels a bit too blatant at first, but it later resonates with what dramatically occurs later in the story. As a result, we all come to root all the more for Elliot and E.T. than before, and we certainly become quite exalted when E.T. demonstrates his special power again at the last minute.

Around that narrative point, the movie is buoyed further by its superb technical qualities provided by Spielberg and his excellent crew members including Daviau. The editing by Carol Littleton, who received an Honorary Oscar a few years ago, is particularly impressive during that famous climax action sequence which is still a marvel to behold for its brimming sense of unadulterated thrill and excitement, and the unforgettable score by John Williams, who deservedly won his fourth Oscar for this film, soars along with the movie whenever that is required.

The main cast members of the film are believable as their characters experience or behold all those wondrous moments in the film. Although he has steadily maintained his acting career during last four decades, Henry Thomas has been always remembered for his earnest performance here in this film, and it is still the best work in his career. Around Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, and Drew Barrymore hold each own place as Elliot’s family members, and Peter Coyote is also solid a government agent who turns out to be much more sympathetic and understanding than expected.

On the whole, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” is a great film to be remembered for its sublime mix of SF, fantasy, and adventure, and I am glad that I could watch it again at a movie theater today. When I watched it for the first time around the early 1990s, it was simply an entertaining movie to me just because I was a young boy at that time, but I came to appreciate more of its immense emotional power as well as its top-notch technical aspects when I watched it again around 10 years later, and the movie still interested and touched me a lot again today. To be frank with you, I am already considering showing it someday to my little niece who has been growing up day by day, and I’d love to observe how she will respond to it.