DAYS OF HEAVENÂ (PG)
D:Â Terrence Malick
Paramount (Bert Schneider & Harold
Schneider)
USA 🇺🇸 1978
95 mins
Drama
W: Terrence Malick
DP:Â Nestor Almendros
Ed: Billy Weber
Mus:Â Ennio Morricone
PD: Jack Fisk
Cos: Patricia Norris
Richard Gere (Bill), Brooke Adams (Abby), Sam Shepard (The
Farmer), Linda Manz (Linda)
Days Of Heaven is a visually amazing drama with a pinch of
religious allegory.
Set at the turn of the 1900's, Bill, a migrant steel mill
worker, along with his betrothed, Abby, and younger sister, Linda, flee the industrial city of Chicago for the sanctuary of the Midwest, where they work on a wheat farm for a terminally ill
plantation owner who takes a shine to Abby.
Bill convinces Abby to marry the farmer, so they can both
live off the inheritance when he passes, but as the rich landowner becomes suspicious of the deception, Abby's feelings for him become genuine.
Though the narrative is more a visual poetry than a
traditional drama, anyone who knows how Terrence Malick directs his films wouldn't be surprised with how he paints his canvas.
The acting performances are all good without being
earth-shattering, while the main star of the film is Nestor Almendros' breathtaking cinematography.
8/10