Heaven (2002 film)

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Heaven

Directed by	Tom Tykwer
Produced by	Stefan Arndt, William Horberg
Written by	Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Starring	Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi
Distributed by	Miramax Films (USA)
Release date(s)	February 6, 2002
Running time	96 minutes
Language	English, Italian
Budget	US$11,000,000
IMDb profile

Heaven is a 2002 motion picture directed by Tom Tykwer. It stars Cate Blanchett, who shaved her head for the film, and Giovanni Ribisi. The screenplay was co-written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz. Kieślowski intended it to be part of a planned trilogy, possibly directed by himself, but died before he could begin the project. The second film of this trilogy is L'Enfer (French: Hell), and the third was supposed to be named Purgatory.

The film is noteworthy for Cate Blanchett's performance, specifically the oft-commented-upon "Interrogation Scene." Fans of Blanchett consider it an extraordinary 10 minutes.

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film tells the story of an English woman, Phillipa, an English teacher in Turin, Italy who attempts to avenge the deaths of her husband and numerous friends and students from overdoses by staging a bomb attack on a supposed drug lord/businessman. Instead, she inadvertantly kills four innocent people. After she is arrested, a young police officer develops feelings of love for her. Believing that the deaths were unintended, he helps Phillipa to escape and finally attain revenge by killing the drug lord. The two then become fugitives on the run.