Heaven - Tom Tykwer

 

About halfway through my collection of Tykwer films. Heaven is different from the first few because the script is by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the writers of Blue, White and Red. If you look back, you will find reviews of these three films which make up the Colours Trilogy. The script for Heaven was the last one that Kieślowski wrote so the feel of it is quite different from the previous Tykwer films I have watched. It also feels a bit different from the Trilogy as well. 

The film starts with us seeing Cate Blanchett finish making a homemade bomb. We see her taking it to the destination, and we see who her target is. We also get a hint as to why she is trying to kill this man. However, we see her leave and we see what happens in the building after she leaves...and how her goal is not reached. We find her in custody soon, and we discover a gendarme (Giovanni Ribisi) who is able to translate for her - though she speaks perfect Italian. We find out what her goal actually was, why this specific man was selected...and we start getting hints that the police force may be hiding something, and we also start seeing Ribisi rethink what he knows and start to follow his heart a bit. The film has quite a number of tense moments, and some good suspense. Blanchett and Ribisi are fantastic, and I found it to be an oddly satisfying film though the ending is somewhat inconclusive. Still, if you like the films of Tykwer, or the films of Kieślowski - this should be on your list.