Nine Days

Not only was Nine Days my favorite selection at the Sundance Film Festival last year, it was my favorite movie of 2020.  I absolutely loved this beautiful exploration of what it means to be alive the first time I saw it and I think I loved it even more when I saw it again yesterday!  On an alternate plane of existence, Will (Winston Duke), a man who was once alive but had a difficult life experience, is tasked with choosing which souls will get the privilege of being born and then monitoring and recording the details of their life experience.  He is assisted by Kyo (Benedict Wong), a soul who is in limbo, and the two of them watch video footage from the POV of each person Will selected on vintage TV screens.  He is worried about a young man who is being bullied by his classmates and a veteran who has suffered a disabling injury but he takes great pride in a violin prodigy named Amanda.  On the day that she is about to perform a concert, she has a fatal car crash that is presumed to be a suicide.  Will is devastated by this loss and obsessively searches through his video archives to look for a sign as to what went wrong.  In the meantime, he must select a soul to replace her and several candidates arrive at his door to be interviewed over a period of nine days: Maria (Arianna Ortiz), Mike (David Rysdahl), Alexander (Tony Hale), Kane (Bill Skarsgard), and Emma (Zazie Beetz).  Afraid of making another mistake, Will tries to determine which candidate will be tough enough to handle all of the hardships and miseries of life.  When a candidate is dismissed, Will creates elaborate simulations of a life experience chosen by each one before he or she disappears from existence.  The final candidate to be dismissed asks for the experience that made Will feel the most alive which, ultimately, teaches him that life is also filled with joy.  Once again, the final scene brought me to tears because it is such a thought-provoking and poignant moment.  I loved the message that happiness can be found in the simplest of moments and that we shouldn't take any of our time on Earth for granted.  I also enjoyed all of the philosophical discussions that Will has with all of the candidates about the nature of humanity, particularly the question about the Holocaust.  Duke gives a phenomenal performance as a man afraid of life who eventually learns to live.  I cannot recommend this movie enough and it is definitely worth seeking out.