Heaven

2002 "When you take justice into your own hands, what are the consequences?"
6.9| 1h36m| R| en| More Info
Released: 04 October 2002 Released
Producted By: Miramax
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: https://www.miramax.com/movie/heaven-2002/
Synopsis

Cate Blanchett stars as Philippa, a British teacher living in Turin, Italy, who has seen many friends, including her husband, fall victim to drug overdoses. Philippa has repeatedly contacted the police with information about Turin's biggest drug dealer but, complicit in his dealings, they have completely ignored her. So Philippa decides to dole out her own form of justice with a homemade bomb -- setting her off on a journey from young widow to fugitive on the run.

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Reviews

CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!
Nonureva Really Surprised!
Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
mapr9 This movie is ironically entitled Heaven. Phillipa(Blanchett) goes through literally Hell, through the entire movie. Perhaps the only moments of hope she has, are those alongside to Filippo (Ribisi). And it's as if she "learns" to love him back for everything he does for her throughout the movie.The movie is very slow paced. Not a lot happens, and even minutes after the first half the main plot hasn't resolved yet. This can work on either way... as a suspense-builder or make it a boring movie.The soundtrack, the scenery and the directing are amazing. It's just fitting. Blanchett as usual is perfect, but for some reason, this just doesn't strike me as a role for her. Ribisi, who speaks flawless Italian, proves he can also be the leading man. Again, like most of his characters, there is a hidden, kind of obssessive force that gets him doing things, but that's the beauty of his character here. No one knows how or why, but he falls for Blanchett's character and goes to great pains to help her. An unusual love story.
Ilpo Hirvonen The work of Krzysztof Kieslowski can be simplistically categorized into three sections: the first division is genre-based, short and full-length documentaries from 1966-1988, the second consists of fiction features made in Poland and the third is his international production - The Double Life of Veronique (1991) and The Three Colours Trilogy (1993-1994). In 1985 Kieslowski made his first film with the screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz - (No End), with whom he made all of his subsequent films. After Three Colours: Red (1994) Kieslowski announced that he would leave the film industry and live in peace. Only two years after in 1996 he passed away on the operating table. But his story wasn't over yet; Kieslowski together with Piesiewicz had started working on a new film cycle: Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, the screenplay of Heaven was the only one which was completely finished but it is obvious that the two men had talked about each film.It was quite a courageous choice from Tom Tykwer to start working on a screenplay written by two perhaps the greatest European filmmakers ever. But I can't think of anyone who would've fit the job better, mainly because of the similar elements in his films with Kieslowski's: Both Tykwer's Die tödliche Maria (1993) and Kieslowski's Krótki film o milosci (1988) portray two people who live in two opposite buildings and whose relationships are limited by a narrow border. Also in Kieslowski's Amator (1979) a man pathologically films his habitat with a movie camera - finds the fascination of creation and the joy of witnessing events; just as in Tykwer's Winterschläfer (1997) only with a photo camera. Both of their lives are dramatically changed due to photography or cinematography. Last but not least: both Kieslowski's Przypadek (1981) and Tykwer's Lola rennt (1998) deal with postmodern philosophy, the concept of reality and the relation of reason and consequence.The beginning of Kieslowski's international production meant a change in the position of woman in his films. His female characters sort of 'rose from kitchen'. This meant the increase of new emotional scales. Heaven also has a female main character, and quite a courageous one: A woman sets a bomb in a room of a businessman, who sells drugs for children. A series of events occurs that a cleaning woman takes the bomb to an elevator, where four people are killed. The woman is ready to confess her crime but then hears that she has failed in her mission and ended up killing four innocent people.The film is divided into two parts: the first part ends when Philippa - the woman has finally succeed in killing the business man and the second is a mystery act. To my mind this is a very good film, but it might seem really weird for those unfamiliar with the work of Kieslowski. Because of its multiple references but also because of its unique narrative and thematics. A leading theme in The Three Colours is the paradox of love and freedom: one cannot be free in love and the people who think they're free are the least free of all. Both freedom (Blue) and equality (White) are illusions to Kieslowski, whose real natures can only be exposed by love - and fraternity (Red) is the purest manifestation of it. Heaven kind of continues this and dealing with the force of love, which is the strongest force of all.Krzysztof Kieslowski was an atheist, but he had had a catholic upbringing, which can clearly be seen in his work: he often dealt with sin, regret and forgiveness. In the film cycle The Decalogue (1989) about The Ten Commandments, he builds a picture of a modern man facing moral dilemmas. In Heaven the woman takes justice to her own hands and commits a crime - a sin. Later on when she has realized that she killed four innocent people, she decided to try again, succeeds and sins again. Dostoyevskyan battle between good and evil has also been a big influence in the work of Kieslowski and many other European artists. In Heaven Tykwer also clearly portrays the good ones and the evil ones, and the battle between them.Many common elements from Kieslowski's later work can be found in Heaven as well: open ending, elements that exceed realism and giving a new chance for the main character. Even that love was a very strong element in the films by Kieslowski and in Heaven; the world-view of it is Kieslowskian pessimistic: the rulers, the authorities don't end up in court even that they transport drugs for children. The open ending is very absurd, multidimensional and almost reaches fantasy as did Kieslowski's ethereal Blue (1993).What is Heaven? Is it a paradise and does paradise equal freedom? Do the main characters only seek for the illusion of freedom, are they just searching for something that isn't there? Does heaven await for them and are they forgiven? It's left opened and Tykwer doesn't offer any answers, neither do I or anyone, we only have a big book of questions and a lifetime ahead. I think Tykwer succeed very well in making a tribute to Kieslowski, who seems to be able of breathing into us beyond the grave. He is a true master, my cinematic hero whom I will never forget. The insightful themes of sin, forgiveness and justice, for which the woman loses her faith in, are dealt with love which is the strongest force of all and the purest of all emotions.
xredgarnetx I missed some of HEAVEN, but what I saw was mesmerizingly awful. A woman plots revenge in the death of her husband but things go wrong and she ends up in jail, where one of her jailers falls for her and plots her escape. English actress Kate Blanchett (not to be confused with Kate Bekinsale or Kate Winslett) plays the woman but the story is set in Italy, and all but one of her fellow actors is Italian (the exception being American-born Giovanni Ribisi) and huge chunks of dialog are in Italian with subtitles. The movie is extremely slow-going. Also, I am yet to find anything particularly appealing about Ms. Blanchett, whom I have now seen in three or four movies. I would have preferred Ms. Beckinsale and her perky breasts. And an American or possibly English setting.
Sean Victor I want to say you will never watch another film like this! This incredible, loving, sublime, poetic drama film has a strange beauty and its gonna take your emotion higher than you ever felt! The direction is just perfect, may be the best Tykwer work, the actors should was nominated for an Oscar... Cate Blanchet took this film on her shoulder, and she did a really good job! Congratulations Tom Tykwer for have created a masterpiece of emotion. An Poetic sense of human behavior and their feelings after all.And if you never saw this film before, believe me, don't miss it! I mean It!