Close Encounters Of The Third Kind was written when director Steven Spielberg was just out of his teens. It was a project very close and personal to him and after the box office success of Jaws (1975), he was able to receive respect and creative freedom in Hollywood and was finally able to make his dream film as his follow up. Released in Novemeber of 1977, Close Encounters may be one of the best examples of Spielberg's great storytelling abilities ans sensibilities. I find this to be one of the most hopeful films I have ever seen. When the film opens, we are presented with an unsettling set up, we feel uncertain and even frightened and by the end of the film, we learn to have faith in our existence.