Days of Heaven (1978)

My interest in director Terrence Malick's work began with his most recent film, and arguably most famous, The Tree of Life. This Palm D'Or winner was the most overwhelming and life-changing piece of art I have ever seen and experienced. That's just it; it was an experience. I remember being dumbfounded in the theater, trying to make sense of it all. To this day, I do not understand everything that occurred in that film, but it indeed spoke to my soul. I wanted to find meaning in every detail. I wanted to watch it a hundred more times. I wanted to create something that would have just as much impact on someone else as this film did on me.

For this class, I wanted to utilize this time to watch some of his other work, since The Tree of Life was the only film of his I had seen. For a director to have such an impact on me in one film, I had to see if his other work would do the same.

I decided to begin with Days of Heaven. I chose this film for two reasons:

1. A classmate recommended it to me two years ago and I never got around to watching it.
2. It was Malick's last film before mysteriously disappearing from the film world for twenty years.

I will start by saying that this film did not have as deep of an effect on me as The Tree of Life did, but I really did not expect it to. I did pick up on a lot of auteuristic qualities that I enjoy about Malick's work:

Cinematography

Utilization of Nature as a Character

"Nobody's perfect. There was never a perfect person around. You just got half devil and half angel in you." - Days Of Heaven

This is a story about the trials of life, the loss of hope, and the dark consequences of our actions. Malick beautifully paints this story. Though the story intrigued me and the visuals captivated me, I am more curious about the director himself.

After winning the Oscar for Best Cinematography for this film, Malick suspiciously disappeared off the Hollywood map for twenty years. To this day, no concrete explanation is given why.

"Some believe he lost his passion for directing while others feel he simply wanted to explore the world and do other things with his life. It is reported that he saw the world including exploring ancient caves in Nepal and climbing the Swiss Alps. But all that time he maintained two apartments in Austin, one to live in and one to write in," (John Sanchez on Terrence Malick).

As an aspiring director myself, this fascinates me. Not that I'm comparing myself to him and all his greatness, but I feel as though if I were ever to be successful in the film industry, I would probably take a similar path. I can tell that Malick doesn't care about box office success as much as he cares about the art. He is a true artist, and I don't believe he was ever in it for the money. His career is certainly something to examine in order to advance my skills and mindset. Many people claimed that he traveled around and explored the world for a while, which makes perfect sense. I think artists should constantly be self-improving and introspective. In Hollywood, it's hard to do so when producers are tempting you with million dollar deal films. I admire and respect Malick for his integrity and true love for art and I hope to see more of his films soon.