A Footnote to Days of Heaven -- but what a footnote.

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2006)

I saw "Days of Heaven" exactly 27 years ago today. I remember thinking as I was driving home, this man (Terrence Malick) will never be able to top himself. As a artist he had gone as far as he possibly could go. He would never get out of those wheat fields. In other words, I was in religious awe of what he had accomplished.
Perhaps Terry agreed, because he was not to make another movie for 20 years.
Malick is, I believe, obsessed with myth. Days of Heaven is a retelling of the biblical myth of Abraham and Sarah, transformed and reset in turn of the century America. But the story Pocahantas has no biblical counterpart. This is pure American, and the telling of the story is as fresh as it can be. That it is an American myth speaks well for this country and its history. True, Malick pulls his punches on both sides, but the movie has a look and feel of astonishing historical reality. The Indians are as frightening as they are fascinating, the settlers are as desperate as they are determined. Tragedy under such circumstances was inevitable, but what linger is a tale of such beauty and poignancy, it may not be possible to do the story again -- though I am certain at some future time, someone will try.
Technically, the film is a marvel. This is Kilcher's movie and she carries it wonderfully. 2005 was a great year for young girl actresses (Dakota Fanning, Georgia Henley), but Kilcher surpasses them all. The male leads offer great support to her performance: tough and taciturn (perhaps a bit too taciturn in the case of Colin Ferrell). I especially liked that all the characters were treated with respect. I kept waiting for the obligatory evil white guy to say something like; "Don't want no injun in our town . .. ." Didn't happen. These are real people on all sides trying to cope with a situation well beyond their control or understanding. But they rise to the doomed occasion wonderfully.
There is truth here even if (parts of it) didn't happen (or at least we are highly unsure if the particular events happened.)
See the movie. Yes, there are plenty of echoes of Days of Heaven (yes, Malick will never get out of those wheat fields), but it doesn't hold the movie back. Unreservedly recommended as the best film of 2005 (which was, in retrospect, a good year.)