Nine Days - cinematic poetry on screens

Retired Will (Winston Duke) spends his days in a secluded station watching people live their lives when one of his subjects dies suddenly. Numerous ‘candidates’ soon arrive at his home - they are unborn human souls competing for the opportunity to be born.

In a way, “Nine Days” is turned upside down. While the film "Defense" judged souls on how they lived their lives, this film judges souls on the merits of what they basically are before they live one moment in life.

As wild and creative as the basic premise is, director Edson Oda’s script keeps everything simple: only one candidate will be born, the others will simply cease to exist. And it is Will who is in charge of that colossal choice.

Yet, apart from a comprehensive selection of a single candidate, this film is most powerful in the fact that it marinates in short-livedness. ‘Nine Days’ finds poetic bliss in the infinitely small daily routines of life. Will asks candidates to react to hyperbolic situations, but the characters spend more time observing earthly moments of life. It is these common, familiar, and transient parts of everyday life that reveal a deep love for this scenario.

While Will presents hypothetical scenarios to candidates, ‘Nine Days’ forces characters and audiences to think about greater life choices, while enjoying the joy, pain, significance, and insignificance of quiet, everyday moments. The stupider version of this film would only be content with throwing out a “what if” script and just making some cynical statements about the selfish nature of man. But the very questions Will asks his candidates reveals his perspective of humanity and life. And no matter how far and distant Will seems, his depressed state is a broken heart ‘Nine Days’.

This wildly creative, tender, and life-affirming film is a celebration and a reflection of small everyday lives that easily pass us by unnoticed.

From 30.7.2021. in theaters across the United States.

By: Olivia J. - Gossip Whispers