Directed and scored by Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run) was the first of a projected Heaven-Purgatory-Hell trilogy of which only the first one and a fraction parts were written by Krzysztof Kieslowski and his usual writing partner Krzystof Piezowicz before Kieslowski's death. Even if I hadn't known it was their story, I would have thought it very like the kind of twists of fate in the "Decalogue." And the doomed romanticism involving an unlikely pair has resonances with Red/"Rouge" from the three colors trilogy. The look is Tykwer slowed down (from "Lola" and even from The Princess and the Warrior) and eventually turned pastoral (Tuscan countryside).

As Philippa, Cate Blanchett is as intense as was Frake Potente in "Run, Lola, Run" (at a far more stately pace than that frenetic film, and looking more like Potente's blonde incarnation in "Princess"). The adoration of Turin police interpreter/stenographer Filippo (Giovanni Ribisi) is credible to me, and I think that Philippa is grateful for his help and reluctant to doom him, though they mate (in silhouette) after both their heads are shaven. Despite the eventually shared look, the similar character names, and shared birthdates (and him being born during her first communion...), I do not see them as twins or of him as her soul-mate. Her soul-mate is dead before the movie starts and no one could relieve her guilt, whereas he is young (baby-faced even) and pure of heart, though not lacking in craftiness at hiding.

Since the movie is front-loaded with suspense (in the first ten minutes, followed by coming to understand intentions), any detail about the plot constitutes plot-spoiling. I can safely say that if the first 20 minutes ot the movie do not interest a viewer, what follows will not. (Not the pre-credit two minutes, which is redeemed much later...)

I think the movie slows down too much in the last third, and abandons the acceptance of responsibility that was integral to Philippa's character in the first two thirds. However, the visual compositions make the Kieslowski-length (long!) takes and slow pacing tolerable, even though this is the chase part of the movie. Filippo's former Turin police chief father (Remo Girone) and kid brother Ariel (Alessandro Sperduti) also deserve singling out for praise. Their complicity enrich the moral quandaries (if quandaries can be enriched). Their best scenes were deleted. Anyone who like the movie will find the deleted scenes interesting, even if understanding why Tykwer cut them (he explains each instance).

The DVD also includes four minutes of gorgeous helicopter (space-cam) shots. Tykwer loves to shoot from above, placing his character in landscapes (including cityscapes). He says that he always shoots more of these than can be used without grinding the plot development to a halt, and welcomed the opportunity to share some of what he could not use on the DVD.

Tykwer also provides a very interesting commentary (as he did for "Lola" and "Princess"). The DVD also includes a short making-of piece with some interview fragments of Tykwer, Blanchett, and Ribisi.

Although the last third is filled with stunning images, I am disappointed in the direction the Kieslowski/Piezowicz script took. Just as I think Stanley Kubrick is overrated (though he was once a great director) and credit Stephen Spielberg for most of what I like in A.I., I think that Kieslowski is overrated (though connecting a few times for home-runs) and credit most of what I like (especially visually) to Tykwer, who is well on the road to creating an impressive body of work (with markedly shared interests with those of Kieslowski, making for a more comfortable fit that the temperaments of Kubrick (antihumanist) and Spielberg (humanist).

The excellence of the DVD extras pushes me to round up a 4.5 stars to 5. I do not think it is a perfect movie, but there is some very impressive work in it, especially Cate Blanchett's performance (in which spoken lines are of minor importance) and Frank Griebe's cinematography (integral to all Tykwer's feature films, including Winter Sleepers).

BTW, much of the first third of the movie is in Italian. It's all very international: a German directing a Polish script with an Australian and an American lead in Italy, partially in Italian, with an Estonian composer's music (along with Tykwer's) and with many italian actors...



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD