Incontri ravvicinati ad Aurora

In the small Texas town of Aurora in the late-19th Century a tiny man (Mickey Hayes) seemingly fell out of the sky. This sets the tone for really the first legitimately-recorded UFO encounter in the U.S. (this is all supposedly based on a true story) as it seems the little man literally flew around in a small craft and was sent to this planet for some unknown reason. The children are entranced by the little fellow, the townspeople are a little frightened and the fright will ultimately lead to a sad tragedy as misunderstanding and prejudice will come into play. Hayes, unable to speak and harmless, meets old hermit Jack Elam (also somewhat an outcast in the small community) as all this transpires and they start a genuinely wonderful friendship as the two apparent opposites seem to have so much in common. "The Aurora Encounter" is one of those films that just seems to stick with me. The bond between Hayes (who suffered in real-life from a disease called Progeria, an illness which made him literally age about four to five times faster than everyone else) and Jack Elam is one of those cinematically magical experiences that I have a hard time explaining. Hayes, only 14 at the time of this film's release, would indeed die in the early-1990s (living to be only 20) from his horrible disease. This is the only film he ever worked on and his obvious kindness and the sympathy the audience feels for him is definitely undeniable. With all this said, "The Aurora Encounter" is still only an average film by the end. It succumbs to cinematic clichés and an unintentional mean-spirit that did not completely endear it with me. Elam (doing probably the best work of his long career) ultimately gets somewhat wasted because of other performers who really have no business in the movies. The direction is up and down and the screenplay is never sure what it wants to be. The movie just never really found an audience when released in 1986 and just became a very small footnote from the decade. If nothing else though, "The Aurora Encounter" should be watched for the scenes where Elam and Hayes are together playing checkers. As ho-hum as the movie is, the time when they are together on the screen is really something to embrace. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie - I would like to give some history on this movie - it was not, as some may believe, and exploitation of a sick child, rather it was the granting of a dying wish of a child, Mickey Hays, to be a movie star. For that reason alone, I applaud this movie, and as hokey as it is, I enjoyed the positive message of the little alien coming to Earth and interacting with the citizens (and animals) of Aurora, Texas. Even though it has a sad ending, it also had many laughs, and several positive messages.

I saw this movie a long time ago, and I'm not sure why, but it sticks in my mind as one of the worst movies I have ever seen. It's some silly story about an alien who lands in Aurora in a tin plate spaceship (with strings attached) and hangs out for a while. Take my word for it, don't rent this movie.

'The Aurora Encounter" is based on a much publicized "airship" that supposedly crashed near Aurora Texas in 1897. This event was no doubt greatly embellished by the press, and eventually became so 'fictionalized" that any trace of believability vanished. Taking the standard U.F.O. plot and placing it back in the old west is a great idea, that unfortunately does not live up to it's potential. "The Aurora Encounter" is badly scattered, and that is it's main problem. Despite the presence of the wonderful Jack Elam, what you get is a part sci-fi, part western, part "Goonies" clone, that is too simplified for the sci-fi fan, too devoid of action for the western fan, and too boring for the "Disney" crowd. - MERK

This movie appears to try and cash in on the success of "E. T." by telling the story of a (supposedly true) occurrence in Texas almost a century earlier. A little alien lands near a Texas town and befriends many of the locals. Unfortunately his arrival attracts the attention of a few of the wrong people, and things go downhill from there.

The story of "E. T.", retold in a time when there was no 20th century technology to work with - not to mention no Reese's Pieces with which to lure anyone out of the woods - could have made for a most interesting movie. Unfortunately, this feature is woefully slow-paced, and the ending is very much a downer. If the story is in fact true, the writers might have been forgiven for taking a little artistic license to pick up the pace a little and keep the audience's attention. The scenes of the alien's interaction with the townspeople (most notably Jack Elam's character) have some magic to them, but the film as a whole just never quite comes together.