Tom Tykwer’s 2002 critically acclaimed film “Heaven” releases on a single-disc Blu-ray package via Echo Bridge Entertainment. This art-house offering is based on the screenplay co-authored by the late Krzysztof Kieslowski, the esteemed filmmaker behind the opus “The Three Colors Trilogy.” As a brief history, the untimely death of Kieslowski halted the supposed new trilogy to be called “Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.” Nevertheless, “Heaven” managed to get produced with Tykwer at helm, and two other acclaimed directors, Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, acting as producer and executive producer, respectively.
Primarily set in Turin, Italy with dialogue in both English and Italian, the film appears as a conventional tale of drug dealing, police corruption, and revenge on the surface, but it eventually digs deeper to tell a rather different story. The narrative begins with a strong-willed British teacher taking the law into her own hands in order to avenge the death of her husband from a drug czar. The bomb she planted leads to the loss of four innocent lives. In prison, she meets a sympathetic policeman. These two unlikely fugitives fall in love and follow their hearts, while the law enforcers run after them.
Visuals
The film’s cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking. Every frame is beautifully set up to create the appropriate mood and tone for the scene. The camerawork boasts awe-inspiring aerial photography, impeccable 360-degree pans, and gorgeous wide-angle and intimate shots. The art direction, camera positioning, and actor’s blocking speak volumes every time. With his treatment relying much on the visuals in saying things the characters leave unsaid, Tykwer handles the drama, romance, and suspense quite impressively.
Unfortunately, this Blu-ray edition doesn’t keep up with the stunning look of its source material. Although a watchable affair with a properly saturated palette, the transfer doesn’t handle the images with ample care. Losing much of the filmic look expected for this type of production, the encoding suffers from noticeable artificial sharpening and smudged details. Although these issues are not in startling proportions, it is still quite disappointing to note how much value is lost in the presentation.
Audio
The package sports a lossless stereo soundtrack, which is an odd choice for a film that was theatrically released with a 5.1 mix. The limitations of a stereo mix prevail in the transfer. Nevertheless, for its format, it remains serviceable with clear and intelligible dialogue and decent fidelity to keep the audience glued to the story. No significant aural issues plague the track.
Supplements
The disc supplies a single featurette entitled “The Story of Heaven.” This short video is presented in SD format. The film provides viewers with English subtitles.
Final Thoughts
“Heaven” works like a painting in the way it captures that sort of formal elegance and figurative elements on screen. And so, it is quite saddening that this Blu-ray offering doesn’t give justice to what the film really offers. Speaking much more through depths of audio-visual layers beyond ways a typical film does, the heart and soul of the material interestingly provides far more substance than its simple story.
Touching and moving in its otherworldly direction and almost trance-like beauty, this quietly passionate piece operates in so many levels. Its multi-layered story develops in ways that convey abstract messages without alienating its technically and thematically captured audience. Its thought-provoking nuances keep the viewers captivated even after its end.