SBS OnDemand adding several films by British directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger is a real treat for any lover of cinema, and a great chance for myself to catch up on the titles that I’d not seen. What strikes me, and I’m sure many others, about A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) is how free of cynicism or irony it is, but is a sincerely charming and playful fantasy about romance across other worlds and Anglo-American divides. A British flight officer Peter (David Niven, all young matinee idol charm) strikes up a romance with an American radio operator June (Kim Hunter) as he dictates his final words from a shot-up bombardier in 1945. Despite his lack of parachute and his decision to jump, Niven’s character survives and quickly follows through falling in love with Hunter’s character. However, up in the afterlife of the Other World, Peter’s number is called and his body is missing due to a clerical era. What follows is a heavenly legal case for Peter to argue why he should not leave this life, while on earth he deals with symptoms of a brain injury presided over by the booksmart doctor Frank Reeves (Roger Livesley). Much like their other films, Powell and Pressburger’s use of technicolour is so striking and sumptuous from the ruby red lipstick of June in the shadows, for example, or the green lush gardens. The epic matte painting and set design of the stairway to heaven and court of appeal still impresses in its old-fashioned craftsmanship. It’s funny, warm and inventive with its colourful cast of characters and its earnest devotion to love ruling all, even in a wartime atmosphere. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 