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The Five People You
Meet In Heaven
Directed by: Lloyd Kramer
Starring: Jon Voight
Genre:
Romance/Fantasy
Run Time: 133
min.
Release Date:
December 2004
On The Web:
Unofficial
Site
Teaser: No Trailer Available
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
If you’ve read "Tuesdays
With Morrie" by Mitch Albom, then you know the author’s got a way with
wrenching your emotions. I’ve never teared up as much as when I’d read
that book; the story of a student and his old teacher who was dying of a
horribly debilitating disease. But it also had a fairly high schmaltz
factor. THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN also has that
sappiness running through it, but with a serious religious bent to boot
(not surprising considering the title).
The story is that of Eddie (Jon Voight,
NATIONAL
TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS) and his life as a repairman at
an entertainment park. Many things have happened at this unique place.
It’s where Eddie’s father worked day in and day out all of his life.
It’s where Eddie fell in love with his future wife Marguerite (Dagmar
Dominczyk, 24 TV Series). It’s the place where Eddie would leave in
order to fight and become injured in WW II. And it’s where Eddie would
eventually die while trying to save the life of a child.
The story takes place immediately after Eddie’s death, and we get to see
five flashbacks via five people that Eddie thought he never knew. The
first is Blue Man (Jeff Daniels,
THE LOOKOUT) who was a sideshow freak
at the carnival. Little did Eddie know he’d touched Blue Man in a very
special way, but also may have been partially responsible for his death.
The second is Captain (Michael Imperioli,
SHARK TALE) who was his
commanding officer during WW II. Both having been captured and tortured
during the war, they also broke themselves free and torched their prison
before departing. It was also during this time that Eddie was wounded in
the knee, making him unable to walk normally for the rest of his life.
But who shot him? And were there any people in those prison huts they
burned down?
The third person is Eddie’s own Marguerite. Having not seen his wife
since her death many years before, Eddie comes to understand just how
much he loved her ...but also how much he’d held back due to his own
past during the war.
The fourth is someone he’d never met in life but had worked for during
most of his time on Earth, Ruby (Ellen Burstyn,
THE FOUNTAIN), for whom
the park was named where Eddie worked. The destruction and rebuilding of
Ruby’s Pier (the name of the entertainment park) is an analogy for the
same thing Eddie must do in order to salvage himself from the
destructive behavior toward his abusive father.
The fifth and final person is someone, again, Eddie had never met but
who’s life he touched in a very significant way. Telling you who and how
this happened would be a huge spoiler, so I’ll just say that, in true
scripture fashion, Eddie is able to “wash away” his sins and become
someone worthy of heavenly entry.
The biggest challenge for some viewers will be trying to separate the
acting/scenes with the religious themes being rammed down their throats.
But if you’re able to separate them, you might enjoy it on some levels.
Although morally it’s a tale of one man’s eventual redemption in the
afterlife, it also has some pretty good acting and interesting sets for
a made-for-TV Hallmark presentation.
A message to those who are “true believers”: please try not to thump
your bibles too loudly.
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Image from The Five People
You Meet In Heaven
DVD cost: $8.39
Purchase:
Tower.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Tala's mother, as she
leaves Tala in the hut Eddie will eventually burn, says, "diyan ka lang,
babalikan kita," which means, "Stay here, I'll come back for you."
Movie Quote:
"Fairness does not
govern life and death. If it did, no good man would ever die young."
Other Actors/Actresses
from The Five People You Meet In Heaven
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