Review of Days of Heaven (1978) by Daniel A — 02 Aug 2011

Terrence Malick literally emits beauty, life, and nature all intertwined into the appropriately titled picture, Days of Heaven. Known today for his masterful and meticulous images and editing processes, Malick solidifies some of his most inspiring ambitions here in a love story unfolding not only for the characters, but for us falling for this poetic love letter of a film. It is written to the living world and does not discriminate. In what took years to trim and edit, the footage is barely containable and one can feel suddenly transported to the seemingly tangible fields and streams on screen. Such emotions and glory of our planet are captured so perfectly that it won the 1978 Academy Award for Best Cinematography and has been added to the National Film Registry for its spectacular attributes.

After accidentally killing a man on the job, Richard Gere grabs his girlfriend (Brook Adams) and little sister (Linda Manz) to disappear. They arrive by train, under the guise of siblings, to a wealthy farmers plantation to secure work in his never ending fields of wheat . The rich man (played by Sam Shepard) soon falls for Adams, much to the dismay of Gere. So poor and feeling so cheated out of any goodness in life, Gere successfully pushes Adams to marry the man for his fortune and since the farmer has been given a year or so to live, they figure they can manage through until he dies and they take over the fortune. The plot thickens as Adams begins to fall in love with her new husband, and at the same time he is finding out that Gere and his new bride are far from siblings. Some were put off at how the story is more implied than explained but once again, that is another area that separates this story from the countless others that reach for greatness. The characters facial expressions and scenery imply more of the story to us than your typical film would, or could. These rich sights are accented by the actors instead of the other way around and it meshes imperviously.

One of the strongest elements aside from the sharp and heartfelt images of the fields and wildlife is the admirable narration by young Manz. Much like his latest masterpiece, The Tree of Life, the voiceover work is the adhesive that holds the canvas together. It creates an innocent, soul searching echo that easily draws me in. Flames of destruction rip through the fields, heartbreak transcends greed, and life is extinguished by brush strokes of a genius director. Every once in a while a special film comes along and makes a paramount difference in I see and feel motion pictures and this is a gold medal-winning example. Sit back and behold the awe inspiring scenes of the isolated house in the backdrop of earth tone browns, it can only compare to the sweeping plague visuals that consumes everyone's dreams in a matter of hours. Brilliance is undermining the patience and focus put into this brainchild. It is no surprise to me that Malick threw aside the scripts and let the actors feel their way through this project early on during shooting. Even though it doesn't surprise me, since it seems obvious that a distinct rhythm is at hand, I was and still am nothing short of moved by this masterpiece. (A+).