Heaven (2002)

yes, i've seen Kieslowski's films and understand the intent...but this movie was just plain unbelievable. the opening was so promising! you anticipate so much--especially when Philippa is stunned, during her interrogation, by the fact that she's killed four innocent people and not her intended target. but, come on! what ensues is just plain nuttiness! this kid/man/boy that helps her, the roaming around the Italian countryside, the helicopter scene...too much kookiness to make it likable or believable. the scenery and cinematography are beautiful but it should have been a national geographic special--without the weird and unbelievable story. "The Decalogue" is what you should be seeing--for a good storyline, bold statement and good writing.

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.

Some movies use non-stop action to get your adrenaline pumping; others, like this one are more subtle. They use outstanding cinematography and beautiful music combined with great acting to gently wrap around you and captivate you.Krzysztof Kieslowski's and Krzysztof Piesiewicz's script, along with Tom Tykwer's (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) direction formed a beautiful shell for Cate Blanchette's (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, I'm Not There, The Aviator) magic as a woman who killed four people by mistake and wanted to pay for her crime.Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan, The Boiler Room) was quietly understated as the police officer who fell in love with her.Frank Griebe's camera work was impressive, and the music was wonderful, some of it performed by Tom Tykwer, the director.

I am a great fan of Cate Blanchett which seems unable to be less than superb lately, and this film is no exception. She radiates an interior beauty that is equal only to Katharine Hepburn's in her best years. Her presence in a film is enough reason for me to like it.Tom Tykwer's 'Heaven' gives however more reasons of satisfaction. It starts like a crime story with a British teacher in Italy killing four people while trying to revenge the death of her husband. While under questioning for the crime a young policeman falls in love with her, and here the movie turns into one of the most beautiful love stories I have seen later. The younger man will help her escape against any logic but the logic of love. The unavoidable end is superb, reminding Arthur Penn's 'Bonnie and Clyde'.The movie is also a testimony of the talent of the great Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski who wrote the script, and maybe intended to make the movie. Certainly, a movie of Kieslowski would have looked different, but the result here is not bad at all either.