Love And Saucers

David Huggins is 72. He's a quiet man who has never done anything very unusual with his life but who maintains that unusual things have happened to him. If he is to be believed, David has been regularly meeting with alien visitors throughout his life, and at one point had a lengthy sexual relationship with one of them. This documentary gives him the chance to tell his story.

Several factors present themselves straight away that will reassure those inclined to doubt David's testimony. The encounters began in adolescence, a common time for the first symptoms of a number of psychiatric disorders to emerge. They mostly seem to begin and end with him lying in his bed. The aliens he describes - and paints - look very human-like, only with the distorted faces commonly described by people hallucinating during period of sleep paralysis. But there is more going on in this documentary than an investigation into the reality of David's claims, which are never seriously challenged. Instead, we are invited to observe who he is as a person and what these encounters have meant to him.

Most people tend to dismiss those who claim to have had alien encounters as attention seekers or con artists. David doesn't come across as either. The picture he presents is messier, less well substantiated and less flattering than those of most people who compulsively seek to deceive others. He comes across as sincerely believing in what he describes, and talks about meeting his alien lover as if he were discussing a trip to the supermarket; it's familiar and ordinary to him, and he doesn't seem to have developed any associated conspiracy theories. He does socialise with other people who claim to have had alien encounters, who marvel at his paintings and assure him that they've met similar looking beings, but even within these circles there doesn't seem to be much of a dynamic of celebrity or praise, just the ordinary bond one finds between individuals with common experiences.

In keeping with this, Brad Abrahams keeps the film low key, with no flashy directorial touches to distract from its reality. David's paintings serve to illustrate the visitors he describes and the places where he says he has travelled in their company.

For viewers willing to listen to David without mocking, his story, though prosaic in tone, has a sweet quality to it. His life has undoubtedly been enriched by his experiences, whatever their origin, and he doesn't seem to have suffered any negative impact, still working and marrying and raising a son. His narrative suggests that friendship and love can be real and valuable whether their objects are real or not. Ultimately, this film doesn't tell us very much about extraterrestrials (even if you're a believer you will have heard similar stories before), but it has plenty to say about being human.