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Days of Heaven (1978) - Terrence Malick
This romantic drama tells a rather simplistic story. After mill worker Bill (Richard Gere) kills his supervisor in a fight he hops on a train with his girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams) and sister Linda (Linda Manz) in a pursuit for a new job. Soonly they find one as laborers on a wheat field owned by a shy and reclusive farmer (Sam Shepherd) who immediately notices Abby. Bill afterwards overhears a conversation between farmer and his doctor and learns that farmer has only about a year to live. Tired of living in poverty and constantly chasing for opportunities he suggests Linda to marry him so they could later claim his wealth. After initial hesitating, she gradually starts having feelings for him and that's where all hell breaks loose.
Like in Badlands, Malick uses a teenage female narrator (Linda), which gives a film a certain dose of innocence and purity as the narrator clearly isn't aware of her surroundings. The cinematography in film is gorgeus, from a masterful field shots to an earth elements theme, the visual poetry that Mallick presented is breathtaking and captivating. The acting from main characters is very subtle and almost understated , which gives film a dream-like and surreal atmosphere, but it also made it kind of difficult to connect with the characters on an emotional level. Beautiful shots are accompanied by a gentle and melancholic score by Ennio Morricone, which blends with the film's mood perfectly. Days of Heaven explores themes like loneliness, constant pursuit for greater things, betrayal and loss through a tale of a romantic triangle seen through eyes of an adolescent child. Eventough the ending may seem bland I thought it was very fitting, as it showed that despite all of drama Linda and Abby faced their escapist nature remained untouched.
Either way, Days of Heaven certainly provides a memorable experience and is worth seeing for cinematography alone, which was one of the most beautiful I ever encountered.
Rating:
This romantic drama tells a rather simplistic story. After mill worker Bill (Richard Gere) kills his supervisor in a fight he hops on a train with his girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams) and sister Linda (Linda Manz) in a pursuit for a new job. Soonly they find one as laborers on a wheat field owned by a shy and reclusive farmer (Sam Shepherd) who immediately notices Abby. Bill afterwards overhears a conversation between farmer and his doctor and learns that farmer has only about a year to live. Tired of living in poverty and constantly chasing for opportunities he suggests Linda to marry him so they could later claim his wealth. After initial hesitating, she gradually starts having feelings for him and that's where all hell breaks loose.
Like in Badlands, Malick uses a teenage female narrator (Linda), which gives a film a certain dose of innocence and purity as the narrator clearly isn't aware of her surroundings. The cinematography in film is gorgeus, from a masterful field shots to an earth elements theme, the visual poetry that Mallick presented is breathtaking and captivating. The acting from main characters is very subtle and almost understated , which gives film a dream-like and surreal atmosphere, but it also made it kind of difficult to connect with the characters on an emotional level. Beautiful shots are accompanied by a gentle and melancholic score by Ennio Morricone, which blends with the film's mood perfectly. Days of Heaven explores themes like loneliness, constant pursuit for greater things, betrayal and loss through a tale of a romantic triangle seen through eyes of an adolescent child. Eventough the ending may seem bland I thought it was very fitting, as it showed that despite all of drama Linda and Abby faced their escapist nature remained untouched.
Either way, Days of Heaven certainly provides a memorable experience and is worth seeing for cinematography alone, which was one of the most beautiful I ever encountered.
Rating: