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Andy K (10823 KP) rated Days of Heaven (1978) in Movies

Jul 7, 2019

Gorgeous sprawling vistas

While I am still a Terrence Malick novice, I truly appreciate the small amount of his films I have seen. Having recently watched The Tree of Life which I found amazing I thought I would look up a few more to see what I was missing.

In or around 1916 middle America, an expansive wheat farm is worked for harvesting by hoards of day laborers. The landowner takes a fancy to one of his prettiest workers and asks her to stay on along with her brother and little sister. Little does the man know the other man is indeed her beau instead of her brother. A love triangle develops after she marries the rich man that slowly builds in tension until the poor couple's relationship is uncovered.

Peril comes to the farm in the form of locusts which threaten the crops and a subsequent fire which could destroy the fields completely.

I have found when I watch a Malick film, an very important supporting character is the landscape, atmosphere and world of nature around their human counterparts. In this film, the majestic fields are supplemented with shots of animals in the fields, vast sky and cloud formations and even unseen plants fighting to break through the soil.

I think these elements add much to deepen the immersion of the audience into the story Malick is telling and helps you accept the world around them quickly.

Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and the handsome Sam Shepard (they all looked so young) were beautifully photographed and played their parts well as we believed their emotions completely.

A truly magnificent film!