Our second speculative interlude on what lies behind the veil is Powell and Pressburger’s magical fantasy-romance, one of their best-loved and most imaginative works, and a near-perfect film. 

Woody Allen said, “I’m not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” This is precisely the good fortune that befalls RAF pilot Peter Carter (David Niven) after his plane takes heavy fire: he miraculously survives its crash landing when the being sent to ferry him to the afterlife loses him in the fog. Having spent what were meant to be his last moments talking to American radio operator June (Kim Hunter), he now has the opportunity to meet her in person, and the two fall in love. However, Peter is soon summoned to the Other World to accept his death, a fate he appeals with the help of his initially sceptical friend and man of science Frank (Roger Livesey).

Powell and Pressburger’s presentation of the afterlife is a fascinating take. Rather than the chaos of, for example, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988), this is a rational, ordered environment, presented in black and white to contrast with the lush technicolour of the world of the living. It is also a deeply humanist interpretation that argues for the value and meaning of love and human connection, backing up Mitch Albom’s statement that “death ends a life, not a relationship.” 

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of our season This Mortal Coil.