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A Matter of Life and Death, 1946
A RAF pilot, Peter (David Niven), is stuck in a plummeting airplane with no parachute. He has an emotional final conversation with an American woman named June (Kim Hunter) who is working the radio at an air force base. However due to a miscommunication up in heaven, Peter survives bailing out of the plane and quickly strikes up a romance with June who happens to be stationed near where he lands. But when the error is discovered, Peter must fight to be allowed to remain on Earth.
While I felt that the story faltered a bit in its last act, this film's creative story and sumptuous visuals made it a real treat.
The visuals are actually what would make me most recommend this film. It's directed by Powell and Pressburger, who also directed The Red Shoes, and their visual stamp is all over this one. While it's not quite as deep and saturated as that other movie, A Matter of Life and Death uses color to tremendous effect. To begin with, the scenes in heaven are all portrayed in black and white, while the scenes on Earth are in color. But this goes a step further when characters move between the two planes and we watch the color fade from or fade into their faces. There's also the use of background color to amp up emotion, such as the vivid red glow behind June in the opening sequence.
The film also makes good use of a recurring visual where the agents of heaven are able to freeze time on Earth. This makes for some neat tableau moments as certain characters move around others who are frozen.
The performances are also pretty winning. Niven and Hunter are good in their roles. June herself is kind of thinly developed---her one defining trait is that she's in love with Peter. But Hunter gives enough passion to the role that you can go along with it. Roger Livesey gives a really strong supporting performance as Doctor Reeves, a friend of June's who tries to help Peter get to the bottom of what is happening to him.
The film did lose me for about 15 minutes toward the end. Things come to a head as there is a trial in heaven to decide Peter's fate. For reasons I don't understand AT ALL, a huge chunk of this trial is given over to the two sides arguing about whether Britain or America is better. Like, I'm sorry, but this has NOTHING to do with the story! During this time, Peter and June are basically sidelined. It's bizarre and a momentum killer. I kept thinking there would be a point to all this runtime being given to Britain vs America, and there wasn't. It might be forgivable if the humor in this section were stronger, but it isn't.
The film also shows its age in some sad ways when it comes to its portrayal of heaven. Heaven, my friends, is racially segregated, despite a declaration at the beginning that all people once they enter are equal. Everyone in power in heaven is white. Women are allowed to partake in administrative work, but are allowed nowhere near the legal process, either as judge, lawyer, or jury. The stairway to heaven is lined with the best minds that have made it to heaven and I'm sure you can guess what they all have in common! It's definitely a vision of heaven that comes from a very specific point of view.
Overall this is a fun and surprisingly moving film. It was a lot more intense than I expected from what I thought was mainly going to be a slightly goofy comedy. Definitely recommended.
A Matter of Life and Death, 1946
A RAF pilot, Peter (David Niven), is stuck in a plummeting airplane with no parachute. He has an emotional final conversation with an American woman named June (Kim Hunter) who is working the radio at an air force base. However due to a miscommunication up in heaven, Peter survives bailing out of the plane and quickly strikes up a romance with June who happens to be stationed near where he lands. But when the error is discovered, Peter must fight to be allowed to remain on Earth.
While I felt that the story faltered a bit in its last act, this film's creative story and sumptuous visuals made it a real treat.
The visuals are actually what would make me most recommend this film. It's directed by Powell and Pressburger, who also directed The Red Shoes, and their visual stamp is all over this one. While it's not quite as deep and saturated as that other movie, A Matter of Life and Death uses color to tremendous effect. To begin with, the scenes in heaven are all portrayed in black and white, while the scenes on Earth are in color. But this goes a step further when characters move between the two planes and we watch the color fade from or fade into their faces. There's also the use of background color to amp up emotion, such as the vivid red glow behind June in the opening sequence.
The film also makes good use of a recurring visual where the agents of heaven are able to freeze time on Earth. This makes for some neat tableau moments as certain characters move around others who are frozen.
The performances are also pretty winning. Niven and Hunter are good in their roles. June herself is kind of thinly developed---her one defining trait is that she's in love with Peter. But Hunter gives enough passion to the role that you can go along with it. Roger Livesey gives a really strong supporting performance as Doctor Reeves, a friend of June's who tries to help Peter get to the bottom of what is happening to him.
The film did lose me for about 15 minutes toward the end. Things come to a head as there is a trial in heaven to decide Peter's fate. For reasons I don't understand AT ALL, a huge chunk of this trial is given over to the two sides arguing about whether Britain or America is better. Like, I'm sorry, but this has NOTHING to do with the story! During this time, Peter and June are basically sidelined. It's bizarre and a momentum killer. I kept thinking there would be a point to all this runtime being given to Britain vs America, and there wasn't. It might be forgivable if the humor in this section were stronger, but it isn't.
The film also shows its age in some sad ways when it comes to its portrayal of heaven. Heaven, my friends, is racially segregated, despite a declaration at the beginning that all people once they enter are equal. Everyone in power in heaven is white. Women are allowed to partake in administrative work, but are allowed nowhere near the legal process, either as judge, lawyer, or jury. The stairway to heaven is lined with the best minds that have made it to heaven and I'm sure you can guess what they all have in common! It's definitely a vision of heaven that comes from a very specific point of view.
Overall this is a fun and surprisingly moving film. It was a lot more intense than I expected from what I thought was mainly going to be a slightly goofy comedy. Definitely recommended.