Heaven

A film set in Turin. Philippa is an English teacher. She leaves a bomb in a building. Her target is clear: a man dealing drugs whom the police have not touched for years. The bomb goes off in the wrong place. He does not die; four people are killed and among them are children. Philippa is taken into custody. She admits everything at the interrogation but asks one thing: how many died. When she learns, she breaks. A young carabiniere is interpreting at the interrogation. Filippo listens to her, sees the records and makes a decision: he will help her escape. From there the film becomes a narrative of flight; but it is built less on the plan than on two people staying together. What the narrative is interested in is not the crime but what is done afterwards: she accepts her punishment and still chooses to go. The screenplay is by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz. Kieślowski died after finishing it and the film was made years later by another director. The visual language stays close to that source: long silences, shots from above and little dialogue. Cate Blanchett plays Philippa and Giovanni Ribisi plays Filippo. Tom Tykwer directed. A strong production for anyone who likes European art cinema and narratives of moral dilemma. For a viewer expecting a thriller, the film moves calmly and leaves its ending open. Who it is for: anyone who likes narratives of conscience after a crime. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a realistic escape film; the narrative turns deliberately abstract at the end.