Heaven (2002)
Twist of fate
Film buffs and critics revere Krysztof Kieslowski, but his works aren't easily appreciated because they are cerebral, and their pacing is slow in order for the little details of each scene to be noticed. Kieslowski's 10-hour TV miniseries Dekalog (1988) refers to the Ten Commandments, and his humanist version was his attempt for believers and non-believers to relate to religious precepts. But many moviegoers couldn't easily identity which commandments he was dealing with. In his most-celebrated work, the Colors trilogy (1993), the films Blue, White and Red pertain to the colors of the French flag and stand for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, but some might not have recognized this immediately, distracted as they were by the deep, rich hues of each color Kieslowski splashed all over the big screen.
Kieslowski was about to make another trilogy - Heaven, Hell and Purgatory - but he died unexpectedly in 1996. However, fate has a way of bringing together people who are meant for each other, and in Kieslowski's case, letting Tom Tykwer finish what he started.
The Polish auteur and the German visual wonder have tow things in their works in common: striking cinematography that has been an appealing characteristic in their bodies of work, and the subject of fate. A chance encounter between two characters is inevitable, and the outcome of their meeting can be a life-altering experience for both the characters and the viewers as well.
As a fellow film fan remarked, Heaven is both unique and strange because a German directed it, it was written by a Polish cinematic legend who was based in France, the executive producers are Americans (one of them is Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack), and the setting is in Italy, though Italian is the mother tongue of neither of the two lead actors.
Mathilde Bonnefoy's editing makes the opening scenes of Heaven tense and gripping: Philippa, an English teacher, attempts to kill a businessman by placing a bomb in his office. She seeks the death of a drug dealer who had made the lives of his customers, including her husband, a living hell. Revenge is her idea of redeeming the man she loved. But circumstances aren't in her favor, and the bomb takes the lives of four innocent people. She is devastated when she discovers at her arrest and interrogation that two children are among the victims.
She meets Filippo, a young carabinieri who is the only one in the police station who understands English. He becomes her translator, as she says that she would only answer the police's questions if she is permitted to do so in her native language.
Philippa tells them about her life, and her rage over what happened to her husband. Only Filippo listens and believes her. He falls in love with her, and helps her escape and seek the redemption she wants, but it's not what she - and the audience - expects.
Those familiar with Tykwer's works would swear the Heaven is almost identical to his 2000 feature, The Princess and the Warrior. The international success of his 1998 opus Run Lola Run earned the young German filmmaker a chance to make a movie under an American company (Miramax). Many foreign directors have crossed this road before and it is usually a disastrous experience, as many Hollywood ventures turn out to be disappointing and forgettable. Tykwer is one of those few exceptions, as he only did not allow himself to be "Hollywood-ized", but also remained true to Kieslowski's vision.
Cinema is a language of images, and Heaven's imprint hard on the moviegoers' minds. Tykwer takes the movie to a different level when both Philippa and Filippo escape to the Italian countryside. Both time and logic are shattered, and a feeling of euphoria is all that is left. It's hard to deny it when watching a crane shot of a train traveling across the vast country, or the camera tracking the two, as they run across a green field, turning into silhouettes when they reach the hill with a solitary tree on top and a sunset in the background that gives the surroundings a golden, glorious look.
It's also hard to forget Cate Blanchett as Philippa - the Australian actress is enchanting when she converses in a non-English dialect. As Filippo, American Giovanni Ribisi shows that his name isn't the only thing Italian in him. And the musical score by Arvo Part, Marius Ruhland and Tykwer himself is uplifting.
Curiously, everything must be visually arresting in Tykwer's lens. Perhaps this is his point of view, that's what a motion picture should be: there would be no turning back once you get hooked, and there will be a struggle to get back to ground when the end credits roll because everyone is carried away by ecstasy over the stunning images.
(First published in Daily Tribune on January 9, 2003)
Film buffs and critics revere Krysztof Kieslowski, but his works aren't easily appreciated because they are cerebral, and their pacing is slow in order for the little details of each scene to be noticed. Kieslowski's 10-hour TV miniseries Dekalog (1988) refers to the Ten Commandments, and his humanist version was his attempt for believers and non-believers to relate to religious precepts. But many moviegoers couldn't easily identity which commandments he was dealing with. In his most-celebrated work, the Colors trilogy (1993), the films Blue, White and Red pertain to the colors of the French flag and stand for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, but some might not have recognized this immediately, distracted as they were by the deep, rich hues of each color Kieslowski splashed all over the big screen.
Kieslowski was about to make another trilogy - Heaven, Hell and Purgatory - but he died unexpectedly in 1996. However, fate has a way of bringing together people who are meant for each other, and in Kieslowski's case, letting Tom Tykwer finish what he started.
The Polish auteur and the German visual wonder have tow things in their works in common: striking cinematography that has been an appealing characteristic in their bodies of work, and the subject of fate. A chance encounter between two characters is inevitable, and the outcome of their meeting can be a life-altering experience for both the characters and the viewers as well.
As a fellow film fan remarked, Heaven is both unique and strange because a German directed it, it was written by a Polish cinematic legend who was based in France, the executive producers are Americans (one of them is Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack), and the setting is in Italy, though Italian is the mother tongue of neither of the two lead actors.
Mathilde Bonnefoy's editing makes the opening scenes of Heaven tense and gripping: Philippa, an English teacher, attempts to kill a businessman by placing a bomb in his office. She seeks the death of a drug dealer who had made the lives of his customers, including her husband, a living hell. Revenge is her idea of redeeming the man she loved. But circumstances aren't in her favor, and the bomb takes the lives of four innocent people. She is devastated when she discovers at her arrest and interrogation that two children are among the victims.
She meets Filippo, a young carabinieri who is the only one in the police station who understands English. He becomes her translator, as she says that she would only answer the police's questions if she is permitted to do so in her native language.
Philippa tells them about her life, and her rage over what happened to her husband. Only Filippo listens and believes her. He falls in love with her, and helps her escape and seek the redemption she wants, but it's not what she - and the audience - expects.
Those familiar with Tykwer's works would swear the Heaven is almost identical to his 2000 feature, The Princess and the Warrior. The international success of his 1998 opus Run Lola Run earned the young German filmmaker a chance to make a movie under an American company (Miramax). Many foreign directors have crossed this road before and it is usually a disastrous experience, as many Hollywood ventures turn out to be disappointing and forgettable. Tykwer is one of those few exceptions, as he only did not allow himself to be "Hollywood-ized", but also remained true to Kieslowski's vision.
Cinema is a language of images, and Heaven's imprint hard on the moviegoers' minds. Tykwer takes the movie to a different level when both Philippa and Filippo escape to the Italian countryside. Both time and logic are shattered, and a feeling of euphoria is all that is left. It's hard to deny it when watching a crane shot of a train traveling across the vast country, or the camera tracking the two, as they run across a green field, turning into silhouettes when they reach the hill with a solitary tree on top and a sunset in the background that gives the surroundings a golden, glorious look.
It's also hard to forget Cate Blanchett as Philippa - the Australian actress is enchanting when she converses in a non-English dialect. As Filippo, American Giovanni Ribisi shows that his name isn't the only thing Italian in him. And the musical score by Arvo Part, Marius Ruhland and Tykwer himself is uplifting.
Curiously, everything must be visually arresting in Tykwer's lens. Perhaps this is his point of view, that's what a motion picture should be: there would be no turning back once you get hooked, and there will be a struggle to get back to ground when the end credits roll because everyone is carried away by ecstasy over the stunning images.
(First published in Daily Tribune on January 9, 2003)
posted by Francis Rex Alger @ 5:19 PM
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