A Matter of Life and Death

A British film. The Second World War is going on. A bomber has been hit, is on fire, and only the pilot is left of the crew. He has no parachute. Before jumping he speaks on the radio to an American operator. He tells her his name, says a few things, and closes the line. Then he jumps and does not die. The next day the two meet. But there is a problem. On the other side a record is kept, and the pilot was supposed to have died that night; the official sent to collect him missed him in the fog. Now they want the error corrected. The pilot objects: in the time since, he has fallen in love, and that is the consequence of their mistake. A case is opened. From there the film runs on two lines. On one a court is convened in the sky; defence and prosecution argue with examples from history. On the other, on earth, a doctor believes there is something wrong in the pilot's brain and prepares for surgery. The film does not say which is true. Both hold together, and the choice is left to the viewer. The visual idea is striking: earth is in colour, the other side in black and white. In one scene a character notices this and says he misses colour. David Niven plays the pilot, Kim Hunter the operator and Roger Livesey the doctor. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger directed. The production was set in motion at the government's wish, to improve British and American relations after the war; what came out went far beyond that assignment. Who it is for: anyone who likes classic British cinema and love stories working from a fantastical idea. Who it is not for: anyone looking for realism; the narrative sets its own rules from the start.