Review of Days of Heaven (1978) by Sam N — 01 Jan 2013

I often find myself in the awkward position of defending a Terrence Mallick movie. But what can I do? I adore them.

His strength is his unique vision of what the movie media is all about, and the incredible cinematographers he works with. Often his stories and characters take a backseat to the environment in which they live in. The viewer is invited to observe from afar, to see through their eyes, to take a minute and absorb the surroundings. Scenes like the rural workers starting their day, or the incredible locust swarm, these are evocative scenes that I remember vividly, even if the last time I watched the movie was many years ago. "Days of Heaven" has that power because its approach is so different.

So if you watch a lot of mainstream movies, this (and "Badlands", and "The New World") can be a breath of fresh air...