Review of Days of Heaven (1978) by Ryan H — 27 Jun 2012

Another film I wanted to re-watch recently so I could see if I would have a change of heart. Luckily I did. Days of Heaven may not have the pacing or rhythm it deserves, but I can look past that. Obviously the film is shot beautifully and Morricone provides one of the best scores of all time.

What really grabbed me this time was seeing how the film looks at everything without a judging eye, much like Linda. She's the narrator, and really this is her story. We might see what's going on with Abby and Bill more, but she's the one that's telling the story and we see things through her perspective.

This reminds me of Tideland in a way. There's a switch that needs to be turned while watching this. Bill and Abby tell people that they are just brother and sister. Why? Because they probably always have it in the back of their minds that there's a way to make money with a rich man.

Or, as one person put it, the story of Abraham and Sarah going to Egypt they call each other brother and sister. Reading up on this, one of the studies say that Abraham lying showed his distrust in God and created a plan of his own, which is what tore his family apart.

Clearly this has a connection, which doesn't surprise me considering Malick has many biblical pieces in his films. So Bill and Abby are in love but never get married because they are always working or on the run.

Another reason they might not admit they are in a relationship is to avoid judgment. But as we see, these two aren't too bright. Everyone knows right away there's something more than just kinship between them.

The failure to keep this secret shows their inability later to finish their plan. Abby's to marry the sick farmer who only has a couple months to live, this way when he dies they will be rich. Bill's not smart enough to stop himself from fighting with the people around him, and he's not smart enough to stay away from the farmer after he's discovered the true relationship between he and Abby.

It's frustrating from our end. How can these people do such horrible things and be so dumb? Here's when we go back to Linda. She says that nobody is all good or all bad. Malick has them make some really bad decisions, but at the same time we can see their heart in other scenes of the film.

They have real love for each other and Bill always tries to take care of Linda. In fact, the whole plan isn't just because they are greedy; it's so they can all be together. By the end we hope that Linda will see how it's difficult to live a life of constant running and no education, but we see she will do it again.

She will most likely become like the ones she followed. This reminds me of the ideas behind The Tree of Life. It's a coming of age tale that avoids cliches. We're not watching how Abby and the farmer fall in love, instead we feel the pain of Bill when he figures out he's no longer Abby's only love.

We observe and see what it's like to live during the time. That's where the film truly works. Perhaps it's not Malick's best, but I'm glad I found a new appreciation for it.