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Terrence Malick’s highly accomplished early film, originally released in 1978, has been reissued. It is a tragic love story and slow-motion melodrama that came out five years after his debut. After this, Malick disappeared from the public eye until The Thin Red Line was released 21 years later, dispelling his reputation as a reclusive figure similar to J.D. Salinger. Days of Heaven reintroduced audiences to Malick’s profound sense of landscape, his deliberate pace, and his mastery of tranquility. However, the film is also filled with events and drama. It also established his filmmaking technique, which highlights mood shifts and changes, largely due to his extensive shooting and editing process. In the years to come, many of his actors were surprised to find that their roles had been significantly reduced or cut entirely from the final version of the film. Most notably, Days of Heaven solidified Malick’s signature style: his reverence for the golden light of dusk, earning him the title of “high priest” of the “golden hour.”
The story takes place in 1916, during a time when many Americans were eager to profit from the vast amounts of undeveloped farmland, but also aware that the country would soon be drawn into the war in Europe. Three people from Chicago, known as drifters, travel to the northern part of Texas in search of work on the farms. Abby, a beautiful and quiet woman, is accompanied by her younger sister Linda, who is talkative but also cautious and afraid of their vulnerability. Linda serves as the film’s narrator, calmly accepting their struggles and efforts to survive. Also with them is Abby’s lover Bill, a brooding and short-tempered man who is on the run after killing a factory foreman and pretending to be Abby’s brother.
The trio arrives at a large estate owned by one of the wealthiest men in the state. He is a somber and sophisticated character played by Sam Shepard. He takes notice of Abby and is immediately drawn to her in a polite and gentlemanly manner. Clever Bill overhears the man’s doctor revealing that he only has a year to live. Bill encourages Abby to marry him in hopes of inheriting his wealth after his death. However, their deal does not go as planned. The farmer’s health improves and Abby starts to see the potential for a better life with this cultured man instead of her brutish partner, who is consumed by jealousy. There is a possibility that the God from the Old Testament who reigns over Texas will punish them for their actions.
Malick utilized elements from renowned works such as John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (possibly with influence from Thomas Hardy) and Andrew Wyeth’s painting Christina’s World to create his own timeless piece. I couldn’t help but notice the similarities to the works of another great American writer, Henry James. Additionally, the ultimate challenge faced by Bill and Abby bears resemblance to the experiences of Bonnie and Clyde and Butch and Sundance.
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Malick explores the deep-rooted corruption in Bill’s situation. Shepard kindly invites Bill and Linda to stay with him and his new wife, while he and Abby enjoy their intimate relationship. However, Bill’s greed and cynicism cannot protect him from the pain he is facing. Interestingly, despite their closeness, Bill and Abby are more like siblings due to their poverty and reliance on fate and capitalism. Abby’s love for the farmer, though built on lies and doomed to fail, is a more mature relationship. The film’s backdrop of wheatfields adds to the sense of mystery and beauty, hinting at the inevitability of death and the search for meaning in life.
As Malick’s trajectory as a filmmaker progressed, the succinct and realistic qualities seen in Days of Heaven became less prominent. His later works challenged viewers to engage with a more ethereal and elevated realm of imagination. However, this particular film showcased his skill and intention from the outset.
Source: theguardian.com
