August 27th: HEAVEN (Tom Tykwer, 2002)

A teacher attempts to murder a high-level drug dealer and becomes a fugitive from justice.

Heaven is the creation of Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztif Piesiewicz, the duo responsible for the modern classic Three Colors trilogy.  Meant to be the first installment in a new trilogy loosely based on Dante's Divine Comedy, Kieslowski's retirement and subsequent death forced producers to look for other talent to take over the project.

Tom Tykwer burst onto the international scene with his time-bending arthouse hit Run Lola Run, and was approached by Miramax studios to direct.  While the previously mentioned Tykwer film didn't appear to be a good match for Kieslowski's aesthetic, his other works showed competence with a more deliberate pace, and the directors shared a preoccupation with the theme of chance vs. fate.

Australian actress Cate Blanchett was cast in the lead, with American actor Giovanni Ribisi playing an Italian police officer, with many of his lines spoken in that language.  Blanchett shaved her head for the film.

The story takes place primarily in Turin, Italy and was shot there on location, as well as parts of Tuscany and the Westphalia region of Germany.  Tykwer's frequent collaborator Frank Griebe did the cinematography.

The film opened the Berlin Film Festival, and received nominations from the European and German film awards, finishing a runner-up for Best Feature at the latter.  It received mostly positive reviews from critics, but failed to make a dent at the box office.

Running time is approximately 90 minutes.