I know I've brought up
Heaven before, but I just caught most of it again on one of the premium channels.
Directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Princess and the Warrior) and written by Krzysztof Kieslowski (Red, Blue, White, Decalogue) with Kate Blanchette and Giovanni Ribisi. Really a stunning, moving film- one of the more beautifully filmed and...
vibed movies I've seen.
Plot deals with issues on a more mythic level (pure Kieslowski)- Love, Redemption, Justice- and is jaw-droppingly beautifully filmed and acted- all in Italy, and mostly in Italian. If you're looking for a more straight ahead story, the mythic quality creates some forced plot lines, which bugged me a little when I first saw this in the theater (still loved the look and vibe at the time), but seemed more apparent and completely forgivable on this 3rd-ish viewing.
Every frame is carefully composed, and Tykwer somehow manages to get a lot of calm movement from his camera while staying tight on his lead actors (Blanchette
). Stunning use of light and shadow in every scene that brings to mind Renaissance paintings... or maybe Vermeer. Spare, haunting score- often w/out sound- that suits the movie perfectly, even if I'd never want to listen to it on it's own. There are two scenes at the end that are some of my all time favorite on a purely visual level (one involving a sunrise and the characters in silhouette, the other a helicopter).
Just hoping somebody else has seen this? I forget what came up last time I mentioned it.