HEAVEN

Starring: Giovanni Ribisi, Cate Blanchett

Screenplay by: Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzyzstof Piesiewicz

Directed by: Tom Tykwer

I have been very, very busy lately. So busy, in fact, that I haven’t been to a movie in the theater in about a week and a half. That is a really long time for me. Hopefully this weekend will leave me with some free time to spend in the theatrical cathedral of my choosing. That being said, I’ve been dragging horribly on my blogging duties…apologies to all those at Monkeywhale. I should be back in the swing this week. Until then, I’ll just tell you guys about a little movie from back in 2002 that is well worth checking out on DVD. The film is called Heaven, and really does live up to that name.

Philippa is at the end of her rope. Our story begins as she executes an attack on a business man in Italy. It has the feel of a terrorist attack, except that it is clearly an attack on one man, and not many innocent people. There is righteous anger in her that is bubbling just below the surface as she does her business. We watch as, in a matter of seconds, her well planned attack goes horribly, horribly wrong, and innocent lives are lost. She stands at a phone booth, calls the police to tell them what she has done and why. Her reasons are just and righteous, she even goes so far as to give the police her name, but she doesn’t know how terribly things have changed. She is arrested, and in the first few moments of her interrogation, finds out just how horrible her actions have played out. The scene is devastating, and any sense of righteousness quickly disappears. This is where Filippo(Giovanni Ribisi) turns up as court stenographer. He is immediately taken with the beautiful Philippa, and is there holding her hand as she wakes from a fainting spell. The moment passes between them, and the rest of the story is complicated, and sweet, and sad, and happy, and, above all, quietly intense. This is a movie that is simply not afraid to constantly take you to interesting, beautiful places.

The film takes place in both English and Italian, and it is really interesting to watch the interrogation scenes play out in both languages, the two leads being the only characters that are bilingual. Their word and language play is fascinating to watch, and kudos are due to both actors for speaking Italian so very well here. Needless to say, this being a love story, the two escape the prison, each giving up everything to do so, and run off into the country. The escape scene is both exciting and original, and the motives for each doing so are equally intriguing. Philippa claims to have no reason to live, except to kill the man she set out to kill in the first place…but once her sense of justice is satisfied she still runs off with the love-sick Filippo. This is the only real conceit the film asks you to make…that the instantaneous love is real. Some of you will not have a problem with that, some of you will. Either way, where the story goes once the two leave the prison is constantly interesting and exciting and beautiful in ways that really will surprise you, and lead to an ending that defies the term existential. Really, you will never see it coming, and when it happens, your heart will rise.

Tom Tykwer is a film maker of astonishing ability. His first film was the brilliant Run Lola Run, and he followed that with the equally astonishing The Princess and The Warrior. This is his third film, and perhaps his strongest effort. It’s focused, wonderfully paced, hits all the right beats, and never dumbs down a single word or emotion. It lacks the blind, kinetic energy of Run Lola Run, but makes up for it in every other way imaginable. Particularly the look of the film. The wonderful German DP Frank Griebe brings a texture to this film that gives every single frame a weight and depth that is both exhausting and rewarding. His camera sees things in ways that are simply not imaginable to most people, and there is not one single shot in this film that doesn’t feel like it’s the exact shot that was required to tell the story. There is a scene near the end of this film that is simply two people standing near a tree in the sunset that may well be the most beautiful single image in a film I have ever seen. This is not an overstatement. It simply takes my breath away.

The script was written as part of a planned trilogy by legendary Polish film maker Krzysztof Kieslowski, and you can see his imprint on every second of this story. His other trilogy, Trois Couleurs, played out in very satisfying ways and this film is clearly the start of something beautiful. Sadly, this was the only part of the trilogy that was finished at the time of his death in 1996, and we will never get to see just where he wanted to go with this.

This film is certainly not for everyone. If you need fast-paced action…stay away. But if you are willing to go through 97 minutes of meticulously plotted and paced story, then this will be an intensely satisfying trip for you. Two wonderful performances, astonishingly beautiful images, and a very rewarding story to boot. Give Heaven a shot. It may be a bit difficult to find, but its well worth tracking down.