Distinctly Montana Magazine

82 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 3 I T'S BEEN A WHILE, BUT THE TIME MAY BE COMING FOR US TO HAVE A RE- TURN OF THE GENRE I THINK OF AS LOVE ACROSS THE SUPERNATURAL DI- VIDE. Such flicks are melodramas, occasion- ally comedies, in which the obstacle to the central romantic couple is the afterlife and negotiating it. It's never entirely vanished from the cinematic landscape, but it has had notable periods of prominence. Several pic- tures from the thirties and forties fit within it, including Death Takes a Holiday (1934), Heaven Can Wait (1943), and A Matter of Life and Death (1946). There was a some- thing of a resurgence of these supernatural romances during the nineties, with films like Ghost (1990), City of Angels (1998), and Meet Joe Black (1998) all enjoying popular success. The latter two were remakes, of the German Wings of Desire (1987) and Heaven Can Wait, respectively; Hollywood never declines to drink from the cup of plenty a second or third time. Which is not to say that Supernatural Divide movies can't be creative. One of the most visually inventive examples hails from 1998. What Dreams May Come, starring Robin Williams and Annabella Sciorra, features an afterlife that is a hodgepodge of earthly delights and tor- ments as mortals personally imagine and remember, opening the door for wonder and dread. Montana helped supply por- tions of both Heaven and Hell, which long- time residents will acknowledge fits within real world existence, particularly where the weather is concerned. Adapted from a novel by Richard Mathe- son (of I Am Legend fame), the story con- cerns Chris Nielsen, a physician lucky enough to meet the love of his life, an artist by KARI BOWLES W h at D r e a m s M ay C o m e GLACIER AND THE SUPERNATURAL DIVIDE MONTANA MEDIA

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