Days of Heaven 1978

The title of Days of Heaven perfectly captures the idyllic life on the farm. It’s truly beautiful. Director Terrence Malick and cinematographer Néstor Almendros shot in natural light, letting dawn and dusk outline their characters in gold, as they work, laugh, and have some semblance of stability for the first time in ages. Despite their dubious past, it’s so easy to understand why the love triangle falls for each other, in this light. But simultaneously, it’s the perfect style to depict life from a child’s memory, the very same dream Americans once had before the wars they were pulled into.