The never-ending brilliant ventures of Cate Blanchett and the directorial hand of Tom Tykwer brought me to this dubiously titled film. I'm glad I overcame my distrust. The film continues to haunt me. Blanchett's subtle portrayal of an English teacher in Italy's northern Torino region who is driven by the self-interested neglect of her husband's murder by the Carabinieri (police) into herself attempting to exterminate the the drug lord behind the murder, as well as the deaths of scores of children whose addiction has brought them to the ultimate despair - that performance is sublime. Then, in custody, as she learns that her home-made bomb has not killed the drug lord but has taken the lives of four innocent people, she is overcome by shock. Only the young police officer Filippo (Giovanni Ribisi) who brings her back to her feet, can feel in the coldness of her hand how genuine her response has been, rather than the play-acting ascribed to her by her interrogators. It is that moment that transcends the hopelessness of both Filippo and Philippa (Blanchett) have come to feel and drives the story to its end in a kind of "heaven" above Montepulciano, Tuscany. Realistic? Certainly not. A haunting piece of art. Absolutely.
Review of Heaven
