Have you ever had one of those moments in time where you thought how amazing it is to be alive? The new indie film ‘Nine Days’ makes one appreciate life. Bold and heartbreaking, writer-director Edson Oda’s directorial debut is mind-blowing. We sometimes forget that life is a gift. We get bogged down with the everyday minutiae of running errands, answering emails and coping with job stress. ‘Nine Days’ is an ambitious art film. It tackles existential themes that are rarely explored in cinema today. I like films that emotionally punch you in the solar plexus. This film reminds us how special life is and that’s reason enough to put it on your must-see list.
In the world of ‘Nine Days,’ there is an individual who watches over your life through your point of view and records it on VHS tapes. The room is covered in a wall of televisions playing out their lives. One of the individuals in charge is Will (Winston Duke), who also decides which unborn souls get to merge with a body and live. This plane of existence is almost like a purgatory. One of Will’s chosen subjects is a musical prodigy named Amanda. As she drives her car to a concert performance, we watch Amanda crash into a building and die. Was it a possible suicide? Will is at a loss as to why someone with so much promise would end her life this way.
Since Amanda is gone, Will has another screen to fill. He begins to interview a handful of souls for the opportunity to become a human being. It is a 9-day process. It is an eclectic group but a late-comer, Emma (Zazie Beetz) stands out from the rest. She has an inquisitive personality that confounds Will. He wants to know what Emma would do in a concentration camp as a prisoner of war. Instead of giving a standard answer, she simply tells him that she cannot answer the question. We find out that Will lived in the real world before taking on his present role. It is almost as if Emma wants to help Will overcome his grief he dealt with when he was alive.
If you’re scratching your head, don’t worry. It sounds like a convoluted plot but it works. All the characters are unique and engaging. These unborn souls all want to be the chosen one. One of their assignments is to watch the people’s lives on the television screens. They are required to take notes. They quickly learn that life consists of happy moments as well as tragedy. At one point, Will tells his friend Kyo (Benedict Wong), “All I can do is send them to that shithole and say survive it.” We never know exactly what happened to Will during his life. He was also an artist like Amanda and that may explain why he is taking her death so hard.
Will might come across as heartless but he is a kind man. When he rejects a candidate, he goes out of his way to construct an elaborate moment for them to experience. One candidate wishes to have a day at the beach and another wants to take a bike ride through town. Once they are done with their last wish, they disappear into nothing. It is heartbreaking to watch. Director Oda brilliantly illustrates how these everyday moments are the ones to cherish in life. ‘Nine Days’ is a thought-provoking story reminding us not to take life for granted.
