When I saw the trailer for "Nine Days," I knew that it would probably have me in tears. Such a grand film about finding beauty and meaning in life. How could I not cry? The tears are pre-packaged. Just add water (and lipids, lysozyme, lipocalin, glucose and sodium).
The concept of "Nine Days" is relatively simple. This film follows a group of souls (who appear as adults in this place or time before life begins) who are being considered to receive the gift of life. Watching and critiquing them is an arbiter named Will (Winston Duke).
As an arbiter, Will observes the lives of everyone he picks to receive the gift of life on multiple television sets stacked on each other in his living room. He takes detailed notes about these lives and even records sections of them on VHS tapes to be kept in a room of filing cabinets.
"Nine Days" opens with Will watching different points of view from a girl named Amanda, a violinist and prodigy. And even though we never technically meet Amanda, seeing these key moments from her life, literally through her eyes, the audience should feel as though it knows her. Her violin music sets the tone immediately: This is going to be a big film with somber and reverent tones, a few laughs, many tears.
And while my cynical brain wondered at first why Will didn't have access to Blu-ray discs in this pre-life dimension, the movie didn't give me any more time to make jokes. Because soon into the movie, we see Amanda crash her car, and she dies, leaving Will grasping for answers about the soul he chose for life, one with grand prospects for a rich existence.
COLLECTION OF SOULS
The nine souls he meets afterward are being examined to see if they'll be a good fit to take the role vacated by a deceased Amanda. And what a collection of souls they are!
There's Emma (Zazie Beetz), a curious sort who questions everything, even Will's questions. Right when I met her, I smiled. She was one of my favorite characters in the movie. Then there's Kane (Bill Skarsgard), a brutally honest skeptic who most folks watching the film will probably relate to. Tony Hale nails the role of Alexander, a kind of smarmy guy who you can tell would spend a good deal of his life making inappropriate jokes if given the chance to be born.
Some souls the movie spends more time on, and others not so much. But at least five get strong moments. The rest are dismissed with little fanfare.
One thing I'll give "Nine Days" credit for it answers most of the questions you'd have. In actuality, some of the souls will ask questions the audience might find itself wondering from time to time.
One soul asks, "Am I dead?" And Will responds, "I wouldn't say you're alive or dead." He also informs the souls that whoever is picked to be born won't have any memories of pre-life, but they'll still be themselves. Through "Nine Days" we discover Will can eat but doesn't have to. There are other arbiters in the world Will inhabits. And Will has company now and again, a man named Kyo (Benedict Wong) whom I grew to love.
Kyo is a bit of a mystery. He shows up now and again and helps Will. The man also reveals he was up for a chance at life and ultimately not chosen. When souls aren't chosen, every other one fades away, but why that didn't happen to Kyo is a bit of a question mark. He's not an arbiter, but Kyo does say he's there to keep an eye on Will and make sure he makes good choices for the gift of life. Most questions you might have about the story will probably revolve around Kyo's exact role in the film.
Every detail director and writer Edson Oda chooses to reveal is intentional. The entire movie feels like a hand-made gift carefully assembled for the audience. And when you untie the bow and open the wrapping paper, you'll find yourself thinking about beauty in life.
LARGE AND EMPTY SETTING
"Nine Days" was shot in Utah, and while the only places the story really shows us are Will's house and a mysterious junkyard he occasionally visits to scavenge for parts, the desert setting that surrounds Will's home makes this pre-life feel so large and empty.
Souls show up occasionally at Will's house, and we're not really shown what they do when they aren't being tested. But we are treated to several shots of Will or Kyo walking through the desert at night with a lantern.
The tearful moments come when Will has to break the news to a soul that they're not being selected for the gift of life. And each one has his or her own reaction to the news. The diverse set of consciousnesses I got to witness exploring their new (and sometimes brief) existence are part of what makes the film such a masterpiece.
Sometimes when a soul isn't selected, Will gives them a piece of paper to describe a scene they witnessed on one of his television sets they want re-created for them. One soul, Maria (Arianna Ortiz), chooses a simple experience that I'm starting to tear up even as I recall. She just wants to ride a bicycle down a street. And there's no magic that summons a small world for her to occupy for this memory.
Instead, we see Will and Kyo build a set of screens and a projector, along with a stationary bike for Maria's wish. She mounts the bike with some headphones that play street noises, and the screens play an open street in front of her. It's one of the most beautiful and saddest scenes I've witnessed in recent memory, on par with the finale of "The Good Place."
Perhaps the best part of "Nine Days" is Will's character. He's not a perfect judge free of bias. The man grows obsessed with figuring out Amanda's death and how he missed any details that might have led to it. When he's frustrated, he takes it out on the souls at times. It shows he has regrets from his own life that are slowly revealed as this story carries on.
Will being flawed was a good choice on Oda's part, and Duke plays the role with masterful design, as if he was a born arbiter. But that's not all there is to Will. He's not the attendant controlling the amusement park ride. His character is on the ride with all the other souls, and he's learning just as much as they are, from their experiences and reactions. He's a growing character, not merely some static observer.
This handknit film tells many stories, and we get to see the continued lives of other souls Will chose for life, including a bride preparing for her wedding, a former police officer paralyzed from the waist down, and a kid who faces bullies every day in school. There's not one wasted detail in Oda's movie. It's one of the best films I've seen this year.
"Nine Days" is accompanied by a soundtrack that I think is entirely instrumental. You won't find any Blue Oyster Cult or Randy Travis playing in this movie. And in a way, since a violin is usually at the forefront of the background music, it's almost like Amanda remains through the entire film, surrounding the story like the edge of a little galaxy.
You're not supposed to sneak food into movie theaters, but I don't think there's anything in the rules against bringing in tissues. Trust me, you'll need them.