Terrence Malick, Director, Auteur, Artist. In 1978 Mallick directed his second film which was for me, a recent high school graduate at the time, nothing short of a revelation. Suddenly I realized that movies could be so much more than entertainment - that they were in fact an art form. Lyrical and breathtakingly beautiful, Days of Heaven, as I think of most of Mallick's work, is a poem. A piece of art that effects you not only intellectually, but more importantly emotionally and often even physically. Yes, physically - just try and not draw a deep breath when the camera suddenly reveals to you the flight of a bird, the wind passing over the prairie grass or the deadly dance of flames. When I think of this film I recall those images and the story they tell, a story that at times seems to be working independently of the one being told through the dialogue.
In the end, as with any great work of art, Days of Heaven relies on the viewer to complete its' artistic mission. And whether you come away struck by the themes of progress and a changing culture, the haunting story of love and loss or by the raw power of nature and its' indifference to man, this film stays with you and will continue to evolve within you.While many try to over intellectualize this and other Mallick films, for me, they will always be best understood and enjoyed when viewed through the lens in your heart rather than the one in your brain. Days of Heaven is a film that simply happens to you.
