This imaginative and inventive little surrealist fantasy come pretentious romance is a result of the directorial teaming of Powell and Pressburger. A Matter of Life and Death follows the story of World War 2 airman David Niven who gets caught in a plummeting aeroplane. Normally in this situation, one would parachute out; but his chute has been shot to ribbons, and so he faces certain doom. His only form of comfort in his final moments comes from a young female radio operator, June. While on his way to doom, the two form a bond over the radio; which makes his situation all the more tragic. However, while on his way down without a parachute, heaven isn't able to locate him due to the thick fog (you have to suspend your disbelief a little bit with this film.... just a little) and he lands back on earth with barely a scratch despite falling all that way. Naturally, he meets up with June after his fall and the two fall in love. Heaven, however, has a different idea about how the airman's future will pan out and set out to regain their lost minion...but in a typical apple pie way, he is given the right to a free trial where he will be able to plead for his life on Earth...
If you thought It's a Wonderful Life was pretentious; you ain't seen nothing yet! The good nature of the film is almost sickly sweet at times, and there are several moments that will no doubt make your toes curl and your eyes roll...but through this pretentiousness lies a very potent and very romantic story. Throughout we are treated to imaginative and inventive scenes taking place in heaven and on earth, taking in areas such as the romance between the two young lovers, and then some great ideas sprouting from heaven and it's labyrinth of possibilities, but the film is overall far from perfect. About one hour in, you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise; but when it gets to the court scene, that's where it falls flat on it's face. Strangely, as the film was made in Britain, it's one of the most 'American' films I've ever seen. The court sequence is, basically, an ode to American values; with the 'lawyer' preaching about how great America is etc. and basically, it's cringe-worthy. The judgment of the court is also very predictable...come on, seriously, who didn't know the ending before seeing the film? I'm not saying they should have ended it another way, I'm just saying.
Overall, it's a shame that the film does fall down in the final third. Don't get me wrong, this is a good film and well worth viewing, but less 'American values' and more on the inventiveness that made the first hour so pleasant would have made this a masterpiece
If you thought It's a Wonderful Life was pretentious; you ain't seen nothing yet! The good nature of the film is almost sickly sweet at times, and there are several moments that will no doubt make your toes curl and your eyes roll...but through this pretentiousness lies a very potent and very romantic story. Throughout we are treated to imaginative and inventive scenes taking place in heaven and on earth, taking in areas such as the romance between the two young lovers, and then some great ideas sprouting from heaven and it's labyrinth of possibilities, but the film is overall far from perfect. About one hour in, you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise; but when it gets to the court scene, that's where it falls flat on it's face. Strangely, as the film was made in Britain, it's one of the most 'American' films I've ever seen. The court sequence is, basically, an ode to American values; with the 'lawyer' preaching about how great America is etc. and basically, it's cringe-worthy. The judgment of the court is also very predictable...come on, seriously, who didn't know the ending before seeing the film? I'm not saying they should have ended it another way, I'm just saying.
Overall, it's a shame that the film does fall down in the final third. Don't get me wrong, this is a good film and well worth viewing, but less 'American values' and more on the inventiveness that made the first hour so pleasant would have made this a masterpiece