Heaven

Spare, enigmatic and mannered, German director Tom Tykwer's adaptation of a screenplay by Krzysztof Piesiewicz and the late Krzysztof Kieslowski is a dreamy fable about love at first sight, fluid identities and the search for meaning in a world ruled by corruption and arbitrary cruelty. The story starts with a literal bang: Philippa Paccard (Cate Blanchett), a widowed English teacher living in Turin, plants a bomb in the office of businessman Marco Vendici (Stefano Santospago). She goes to some lengths to ensure no one else is in Vendici's immediate vicinity, then calls the police and confesses. After Philippa's arrest, she learns what we already know: The bomb kille...