In his feature film debut, “Nine Days,” writer/director Edson Oda takes on nothing less than life itself. Of course, all films are about life itself, but in this spiritually and philosophically complex piece, Oda situates the story at the nexus of existence, in a story that poses the question: who gets born and why?
In a dusty, remote, desert location, where it always seems to be twilight, a serious man goes about his work. Will (Winston Duke), studies a bank of televisions, dutifully recording video tapes and taking notes. He’s watching the lives of others through their own eyes, as they are born, grow up, become the people who they are. These are souls he’s selected for life, and he watches, silently, without intervention. One day, moments before she’s due to perform a violin concerto, a young woman named Amanda (Lisa Starrett) drives her car into a wall and dies. And now, Will must get to his real work, selecting a new candidate for life.
Over the course of nine days, Will interviews a group of souls who are hoping to be granted a life on earth, including Alexander (Tony Hale), Kane (Bill Skarsgard), Mike (David Rysdahl), Maria (Arianna Ortiz) and Anne (Perry Smith). He poses ethical questions and has them watch footage of the lives he’s shepherding and notate their observations. It’s unclear what criterion he’s using to determine who should be able to live, a question that bedevils the candidates as he cuts them loose one by one. They plead with him for a second chance, or even just an answer, which he withholds, frustratingly.
But it becomes clear, as well, that Will is going through his own reckoning with life himself. He’s grieving Amanda, searching for answers in the footage, which troubles his assistant of sorts, Kyo (Benedict Wong). And the presence of one of the candidates, Emma (Zazie Beetz), disrupts his procedures. Emma is not content to merely answer Will’s questions, she wants to ask them too, and when posed with “why?” Will finds himself, if not at a loss, paralyzed with doubt.
Oda, too, does not offer up any easy answers, and “Nine Days” presents almost as many questions as Emma does. They are questions are ones about the nature of being, about what makes life worth living, about the risks and rewards of feeling deeply. It’s not often you see a film that’s so nakedly philosophical about what it means to live and how to do it best, and eventually, ethical scenarios are swept away by emotional outpourings.
“Nine Days” is also an exploration of our own relationship to cinema, the flickering images from the projector, or through the fuzz of TV static, that can capture, express or otherwise communicate something about life to a viewer. At its best, cinema can impart some wisdom about existence, a process that we witness the candidates go through during their selection; taking in small moments from each life and learning, or feeling, something new.
In this many-layered metaphorical exploration of existence, Oda announces himself as a filmmaker with a unique vision and voice, and allows his star (and producer), Duke, to demonstrate his chops beyond the genre pleasures of “Black Panther” and “Us.” By withholding easy resolutions or platitudes, Oda allows “Nine Days” to be a vessel through which viewers can fundamentally wrestle with themselves about what it means to live life, and what it means to witness life on screen, and in the moment. These are, indeed, pressing questions, now more than ever.
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‘NINE DAYS’
3.5 stars (out of 4)
MPAA rating: R (for language)
Running time: 2:04
Where to watch: in theaters Friday
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