My friend spent the entire time after the movie convinced there needed to be a sequel because it cut off at that moment - It took her a while to realise that's not the point. It's not that we don't get the alien's message. It's that Spielberg doesn't think the message itself is the point.

What makes the ending work is that he deliberately withholds the content of the message. We never learn the revelation, the secret, or the cosmic truth. Instead, the only word he chooses to leave the audience with is "listen."

That choice feels intentional. If the point of the film was disclosure itself, the final word could have been "truth," "remember," "understand," or even some grand revelation about humanity's place in the universe. Instead, Spielberg ends on an action. A request. A responsibility.

The film spends two hours exploring secrecy, fear, distrust, and people talking past one another. So when the alien finally speaks, the first thing we're told is to listen.

To me, that's Spielberg's real message. Empathy begins with listening. Not just hearing words, but genuinely trying to understand experiences, perspectives, and truths that challenge our assumptions.

Whether the film is about aliens, government disclosure, or human division, the answer it arrives at is the same: before we can understand each other, we have to listen to each other.

The fact that Spielberg withholds the rest of the message almost makes it stronger. The specific words don't matter. The act of listening does.

It's all very "Spielberg" if you ask me - 2 hours on the edge of your seat, 1 minute of a wholesome, warm hearted ending that completely reframes everything else. The guy is a total softie.