Days of Heaven

Goddamn you Terrence Malick. Sometimes a young filmmaker sees a great movie and thinks to him or herself, "I could make a movie that good." Other times, the young filmmaker watches a great movie and thinks, "I could never make a movie that good."

This is the way I feel about Terrence Malick. I will never be able to make movies like his - they are too beautiful, meditative, simple. Each frame is like a painting. I think he must've shot one shot a day during Days of Heaven just to get magic hour light for the whole goddamn movie.

The plot is so simple - rag-tag depression wanderers need money and jobs. Man and woman in love pretend to be brother and sister. Rich, dying farmer falls for woman. A scheme is hatched. Love triangle ensues. Tragedy.

This is a great film. Not quite as great as Badlands, which for me, is top five all time...

Lynn Ramsey borrows from Malick a lot, whether she knows it or not...I saw an interview with her because she uses the music from Badlands in Ratcatcher and she said that when she first heard the music she didn't know the music was from Badlands. But when I see the shots of wheat and the searchlight shots in Days of Heaven, I know she's seen and directly borrowed shots from Malick. Maybe it's subconscience, or maybe great minds think alike, or maybe...well who frigging knows. He's worth ripping off, that's for sure.