It’s not often we encounter a piece of art that completely reworks our perspective on our existence. Sometimes it comes from a grand cinematic gesture. Other times, it’s the simple story, deftly told, that has the most profound effect on us. Edson Oda’s debut feature, Nine Days, is an existential exploration of what makes a good human being and what gives life its fullest meaning.
What if every person in the world had a guardian angel? Someone who looks down on each of us while keeping our best interests at heart? Will (Winston Duke) lives in a small yellow house that sits alone against a barren and silvery desert landscape. His living room contains several dozen analog televisions, each continuously playing the life of a human whose soul was once selected by Will to be born. Will lives each day by tracking the lives of his selected human beings by recording their experiences and observing any changes in their outlook or behavior. When one of Will’s favorite human beings, a talented violinist named Amanda, unexpectedly dies, Will must carry out a routine interview process to choose a new unborn soul to be granted the gift of life.
One at a time, six strangers appear at Will’s doorstep to begin a nine-day process of learning about the human condition. After the procedure, Will must make a final decision as to which soul is best suited for human life; the chosen applicant is born with no memory of their nine days while the others vanish as if they had never existed. Each applicant spends time observing humanity through the television sets while taking notes about the moments in life that feel most significant. Like a teacher, Will checks their homework and provides selective feedback as he sees fit. He also interrogates each soul by challenging how they would behave in some of humankind’s most extreme circumstances, such as being held at gunpoint or having to choose between the life of their child and the many lives of a larger group. Will is protective over the morally good souls but favors those he deems capable of bearing the cruelty of life; he doesn’t want to send flowers into a world where pigs will devour them. Having felt like a victim when he was alive, Will now lives a reclusive existence determined to guard himself against any form of emotional connection. He fears feeling alive as he believes he’s already wasted his one opportunity at having a life.
One unborn soul, Emma (Zazie Beetz), challenges Will’s rigid evaluation system by occupying much of her time by observing Will instead of the lives of his prior selections as originally instructed. Emma often asks Will what it’s like to be alive as if finding a connection to his experience is more precious than anything she could possibly discover on her own. Emma upends the narrative, proposing that Will’s reality does carry remarkable value and that even if he cannot see it, tiny miracles do exist if only we look attentively.
The leading pair of Duke and Beetz both give the most touching performances of their emerging careers as characters that convey an emptiness while simultaneously feeling fully realized. The film’s production design manages to be vaguely other-worldly while also creating a sense of nostalgia for something in the past that’s worth longing for. Antonio Pinto’s ravishing score features string-led melodies that reverberate throughout the emotional core of this world. Every aspect of the film supports its central idea as it ponders some possible explanations as to what might happen before life begins and what we might learn from each life that ends.
Despite portraying some form of creation narrative, Nine Days never feels explicitly about any one religion. While the allegorical setting could be read through a number of different lenses, it’s ultimately the film’s simplicity in how it explores its philosophical premise that allows it to feel so accessible. These large metaphysical ideas are approached very practically, which causes the experience to become a journey of emotional liberation rather than a high-concept intellectual encounter. Oda’s screenplay gracefully balances the act of establishing the rules of its soft sci-fi world while also being careful not to divulge too much information that there’s no longer room for individual interpretation through the film’s equivocal nature. Meaning will vary from person to person, but the gravity of the film’s introspection should be successful for anyone who’s willing to search inside themself for a glimpse of something they’ve never seen before. While the film takes its time to reveal its true meaning and intent, its patience builds up to a climax that is a perfect embodiment of spiritual and emotional catharsis. However ephemeral these nine days may seem at first, we witness the way life can be lived if we manage to recognize the moments that prove we are here.
Nine Days is as life-affirming as it is thought-provoking. The film recognizes the fleeting nature of each instant and reminds us that it’s the small and beautiful moments that make for a full life and not the fears or regrets that attempt to take hold of us. We were each chosen to be here for a reason and someone out there is always cheering us on to succeed in our search for happiness. No matter how deeply we may feel like giving up, Nine Days shows that we always carry the power to remember just how lucky we are to be alive.
