12) Days Of HeavenDirected by Terrence MalickReleased in 1978Terrence Malick could possibly be my favourite director. I can't think of another film-maker who has created such beautiful and poetic cinema as the notoriously shy 66 year old and Days Of Heaven is no exception.
Every single aspect of this romance story set around the turn of the century is filled with such overwhelming beauty. From the heartbreaking score by Ennio Moricone and the wonderfully authentic costume design to the intricate sound production and the Oscar winning cinematography it's a film that is driven more by how it affects your senses that an actual narrative. In fact, the film could have no plot at all and I'd still rave about it simply because every frame is heart-stoppingly gorgeous. The scene with the locusts, in my opinion, is among the most breathtaking moments ever captured in any form of art.
That's not to say that there is no story though. Days Of Heaven takes the love triangle cliche that we have seen in hundreds of movies before and brings something entirely unique to it, telling the story of a couple from Chicago, Bill and Abby, who move to a farm in Texas along with Bill's sister to find work. Upon arriving, the owner of the farm becomes infatuated with Abby, wanting to experience romance having found out he is dying. What's unique, however, is that the narrative spends almost half of the movie making the viewer understand the situations of the three main characters and giving you a three-dimensional portrait of them, allowing the romance between The Farmer and Abby to only blossom until almost half way through.
What I also love about Days Of Heaven, and every Terrence Malick film for that matter, is that it never treats the audience like idiots. It allows you to think of explanations for yourself and it doesn't hit you in the face with its symbolism and metaphors although they are many to find. It even allows you to imagine your own reasons for why the main characters - who are brilliantly performed by Brooke Adams, Linda Manz, the incredible Sam Shepard and the usually terrible Richard Gere - act in certain ways throughout Days Of Heaven instead of providing redundant and patronising monologues.
An absolute, must-see masterpiece and one of the greatest films of all time.
5/5
5 comments:
Very pretty and sounds good (that was an understatement. It's among the top 10 of all-time for both cinematography and score, if not, close). But the narrative is so dreadfully loose that I couldn't give a shit if I tried.
Die hard Malick fans irritate me. He really hasn't proved himself yet with just 4 films, however good they are. If someone had all of them in their top 20 then sure, I could understand calling him their favourite but otherwise I can't help but go 'really?' It's nothing to do with his quality, for example, George Lucas is the crazy uncle of filmmaking and his work is terrible but his impact on the industry is clearer than day. What did Malick do? Someone's gotta just come out and point their fingers on a graph proving it instead of just saying the words because I'm unconvinced. And this is coming from an intense Assassination of Jesse James fan. I hope Dominik doesn't go of the same route. [/rant, which P.S. please don't take personally ;) you're good, bro]
- Jack Moulton
I think that while Malick hasn't done anything to revolutionise cinema, he's a director who has shown just what it can do.
While most movies follow a similar structure and narrative to a novel, for example, his films are more along the lines of a poem. They're not so much driven by characters or narrative but by what you feel and thoughts it provokes when you watch them. And I think that's what makes Malick so brilliant in my books.
No, his influence isn't as obvious as Star Wars, Citizen Kane, Breathless, The Godfather, etc. But I don't think he should be judged by how many people take influence from him. After all, it's such a distinct style that it's not easy to copy without people branding 'Malick' all over it. Even reviews of The Assassination Of Jesse James talk about Terrence Malick and the resemblance is, in my eyes, very slight.
As for the 4 films point... Quality rather quantity. ;) Haha.
Oh, and Badlands, The Thin Red Line and Days Of Heaven are all in my Top 50 so I hope my Malick-loving is sort of excusable. :)
I agree on quality > quantity, never a problem with that. Wes Anderson is in my top 3, but I hesitated calling him my favourite in early 2007. But we're talking a decade and a half long career. Malick is three decades and a half.
I just think that director's with illustrious catalogs and more defined style get overlooked while Malick gets your creamy goodness on his picture.
Though if we're talking film as poetry and that's all then he's top tier no doubt. But film is more than poetry. Film has got to as concise as it is ambiguous. You wanna do poetry? Be a poet. Malick is imbalanced. Good, just I'm a backlash bastard. ;)
Tree Of Life is still top of my to see list for the year. It better come out near me. Guy is a fucking outlaw.
Every time I see the words 'Tree Of Life' I feel like I might implode. I'll be like a child on Christmas morning the day the trailer comes out. Never mind the bloody film. Haha. :)
I guess it comes down to a matter of preference. Personally, I like the fact that he's less concise and more hypnotic than most other directors and I couldn't care less if he takes another decade to make a film, just as long as it blows me away like everything else he's made. :P
Let's just agree to disagree about Terrence Malick, shall we?
You can have your Rushmore and I'll have my Badlands. :)
Haha, fair enough. Maybe there is an incredibly deep emotional connection that people can't explain, because as you can see, I'm raving about his technical ability.
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