Paradis

So here we have a woman, Philipa Paccard (Cate `Fellowship of the Ring' Blanchett). She's out to kill a drugs lord, who indirectly caused her husband to die. She wants to blow him to bits, but her bomb ends up killing four innocents. Now she merely wants to finish her revenge. but imprisoned she'll need help. Enter young guard, Filippo (Giovanni Ribisi).

Hmm. you see once you've got the plot. the movie doesn't go anywhere. It's a thriller/revenge story. and then it tries to morph into a love story. It's aimless though, a headless chicken of a beast, crashing about the place and circling all around itself (thematically). Character's motivations shift without any real good reason given (Blanchett wants to own up for her crimes, and then does not. Why?) The characters are grand enough but the relationship between Ribisi and Blanchett is entirely unconvincing - it's portrayed more as a kid crush that Ribisi has. This is the movie's biggest flaw - it's not going anywhere and ends up crashing (perhaps the opening sequence is a meta commentary on how the plot drives itself into a nothing of a dead end). It's not like that it's boring, it's more you're left at the end going, `Well what was the point of all that?' That's not good.

Acting? Blanchett is an acquired taste - very subdued, much more sublime than a lot of other Hollywood faces. Here it suits her fine - she's a tired, defeated woman, with a small bit of steel still inside her. She does tend to drift through the movie a bit, as if not really sure how to grasp her character. Ribisi again is good, although a bit too fresh-faced to carry any real chemistry with his co-star. At least he gets to talk, for a large bit, in a language other than English.

So is there anything to redeem this? Yup - the photography. Mmm - tasty! Director Tom Tykwer has some utterly wonderful shots - check out the gorgeous train motion shot, or the simply stunning twilight embrace later on. There're also some superb aerial and isometric shots. It's great for setting the atmosphere and distracting you from the aimless, drifting plot. It's all accompanied by a simple but pleasing musical score - basic piano, but mood setting without being distracting. The movie is also not too long so it doesn't overstay its welcome (so you do not become too irritated with its lack of focus).

`Heaven' is, if nothing else, a breath of fresh air. It looks great, has a nice and sedate pace that is too often lacking in the flash/bang of the modern flick. The weak script means it cannot be anything ever great, but its worth a perusal if you fancy a change from the mundane. 6/10.

'Heaven' is a wonderfully subtle film, full of refined camera work and scarce in dialogue. It stands as a good representation for the 'X Filme' project that Tom Tykwer co-heads, which aims to create films both new and thought-provoking as well as successful in their theater runs.

At roughly an hour and a half, 'Heaven' is a cinematic triumph that nudges open the gates to the philosophy and psychology of the lone man or woman along with those of society on the whole. It takes place in Italy, but Tykwer himself stated in an interview that really it could have been shot in any number of places with the message remaining the same. 'Heaven' is a thinly-scripted, in-depth commentary on issues prevailing throughout the modern world. Drugs, sex, sexuality, identity and the fibres that make up humans as a race are what this film revolves around: it is not a film for tourists or spectators. The excellent performances of Giovanni Ribisi and Cate Blanchett (apart and together) should only be missed if you are mainly looking for external adventure and action. Though it shares its part in weapons, scheme and drama, 'Heaven' is not blockbuster material: it is art material.

for silence. for delicate story. for perspective of love, revenge, game with past and definition of truth. for images of Tuscany. for sky, romanticism, for Cate Blanchete and Giovanni Ribisi. for exploration of limits and special May 23, for masks of society, triumph of nuances, science of details, delicate touch, drawing of characters, heavy words, basic solutions, impression of fairy-tale or touching song, aura of things, looks and common pieces as parts of a puzzle who describes shadow of feelings. more than film - a meditation. or bitter way to understand reality more than a web without sense. a fascinating meeting with a fabulous mode to say the essential phrases.

This is an unusual film, start to finish, particularly finish. Why? Because......

It's a suspense film but not all that suspenseful, especially in light of today's bloody action scenes.

It has an ending that is not really an ending.

It's not listed (or categorized at rental stores) as a "foreign film" but much of the movie is spoken in Italian.

In other words, this is hard to label. Throw in an odd romance, some spectacular Tuscan scenery (actually wonderful cinematography all the way through), a slow-moving but involving storyline and one of this generation's most-interesting actresses (Cate Blanchett) and you have a film worth investigating.

A word of warning, especially to younger people: this film might be too slow for what you are used to seeing. If you want action, skip this. This film is more for people into visuals and a different story. Subtitles also turn off a lot of people, and you need them here.

As someone who just loves great visuals, this is an astonishing piece of work - just magnificent to view. I also appreciated the director's "sky cam" with some wonderful aerial shots.

The "R" rating comes from a very, very brief sex scene, which doesn't involve the major characters. There is almost no profanity in here. A strange film to label but it sure is a visual treat. I liked it even more on the second viewing

Cate Blanchett is Philippa, an English teacher who plants a bomb in an office. She wants to kill the boss there because he is a drugdealer and because his fault children died. The boss is not killed, four innocent people are, including two children. In jail she is interrogated and a translater named Filippo (Giovanni Ribisi) falls in love with her and helps her. I will not reveal with what exactly or how he helps her but the woman will have the chance to pay her dues on her own way.

The story set in Italy (Blanchett and Ribisi speak perfectly Italian in the movie) is a beautiful, tragic and intelligent one. The cinematography is great. Together with the music the film takes it time and doesn't rush things. It makes the movie, with a lot of symbolism, even more beautiful. Very interesting, written by the late Krzysztof Kieslowky (writer/director of Dekalog and Trois Couleurs) and Krzysztof Piesiewicz and directed by Tom Tykwer (director of Lola Rennt). Ribisi is very good and Blanchett is great.