DAYS OF HEAVEN

Some films demand to be seen in the highest quality possible. Obviously, the ideal in such cases would be to see these films at the cinema, but this is not always possible. Days of Heaven is one of these very films. As such; go for the Blu-ray, not the DVD and watch it on a nice high-def television, not on your laptop or any portable player you might have. After all, there are images within this film that will likely stay with you for some time and you want the image in your mind to be rendered as perfectly as the human brain is capable don’t you? Anything less would be like watching Avatar on an iPod – you’d be missing out on half the experience of the film. 

The story is simple enough: the tale of a love-triangle seen through the eyes of a young girl during World War I, set in the wheat fields of Texas. We first meet Bill (Richard Gere – a relative newcomer in this film) who flees the steel mill where he works, after an altercation with his boss leaves him a murderer. He boards the train to Texas with his girlfriend Abby (Brooke Adams) and little sister Linda (Linda Manz – our narrator). To prevent malicious gossip, Abby and Linda agree to pretend to be sisters. Soon the three of them are hired to work on the wheat fields owned by a sickly young rancher (Sam Sherpard). When Bill finds out that the rancher has fallen in love with Abby and that his illness is terminal he suggests that the two marry so that Abby can receive his fortune when he passes and the three of them can live in prosperity.

This may sound like the set up for some kooky modern day romantic comedy where the heroine must pick between the man who gave her away and the caring, dying farmer. However, this is a Terrence Malick film and thus it revels in a kind of tragic melodrama, a consistent tone which propels the film forward. We see these events through the eyes of Linda who offers a flat, matter-of-fact account of the events. She often intersperses her story with some youthful philosophical musings: “nobody's perfect. There was never a perfect person around. You just have half-angel and half-devil in you”. This voiceover came about almost by accident - Malick spent two years editing footage to create his finished project, enough time for Gere to film and release Looking for Mr. Goodbar. It took so long because Malick could not figure out how his film would hang together until he experimented with a voiceover performed by young Linda Manz. This provided the film with the skeleton of a structure required to hold the whole thing together.

The reason why this is necessary is quite clear; the film is a collection of stark and beautiful images, scarcely reliant on dialogue at all. We need Linda to guide us, or we would be lost in the image at the expense of the story. Malick’s decision to make this Linda’s story has the consequence of holding us at one remove from the action; which in combination with the powerful imagery gives the film a dreamlike and sometimes hypnotic quality that prevails right up until the final frame. Bill’s dispute with the foremen before moving to the Texas panhandle in some ways sums up the film. We see that there is a tension between these two men that is likely to erupt resulting in catastrophe and yet this tension is communicated to us through images as we cannot hear what either of these characters have to say above the sound of the busy steel mill.

The film deservedly won the Oscar for ‘Best Cinematography’, which was awarded to Nestor Almendros – perhaps somewhat unfairly. Due to the films troubled production which ran much later than planned, Almendros was forced to leave due to other commitments. Haskell Wexler stepped in to complete the film, doing a great job imitating Almendros’ style of photography resulting in a film that remains consistent in style throughout. Wexler argues that over half the footage in Days of Heaven’s 94 minutes is his and thus can rightly feel aggrieved that he did not receive his due credit. The prairies and wheat-lands of Texas are expertly captured, and create at times an almost otherworldly beauty. The film’s focus on natural light pays off - even in the rare interior scenes where light floods in through the windows. Much of the film was captured during ‘the magic hour’ – the moment, actually much less than an hour in length where the sun has set yet its light remains casting everything in a golden hue. The effect is quite stunning.

Biblical allusions abound; indeed this is a film about paradise lost. Bill, Abby and Linda find a kind of Heaven out there in Texas where they lead a relatively good and happy life, but throw it away due to greed and a desire for something more. ‘The days of Heaven are over’ indeed. The plague of locusts which strikes the wheat fields towards the end of the film can be interpreted as a warning from God that should Bill and Abby’s deception continue tragedy will result. The film has a painterly style to it, influenced by Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth and like any good piece of art there are many different interpretations which can be offered up in explanation of it. By giving power to the image; sometimes at the expense of story, Malick has created a vivid, indelible and powerful work of art that can be viewed at any angle and still remain beautiful.