Edson Odas Nine Days Explores the Metaphysical Possibility of Beforelife

May 2024 · 3 minute read

Edson Oda’s Nine Days is coming to theaters in New York and Los Angeles on July 30 with a nationwide release date being scheduled for August 6.

Starring Winston Duke (Black Panther), Zazie Beetz (Joker and Deadpool 2), and Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange) among other well-known names, the movie has received rave reviews.

Nine Days, which is Oda’s debut feature, also earned two Film Independent Spirit Award nominations — Best First Feature and Best Supporting Male Actor (for Benedict Wong).

Plot Explores the Metaphysical Possibility of Beforelife

Nine Days is centered on a man named Will (Winston Duke) and the events that transpire as he observes and interviews five unborn souls to decide on something important; to give life to one of the five prospective souls.

The trailer does an excellent job of introducing what the movie is about, with Will explaining the process to the candidates.

You are being considered for the amazing opportunity of life. If you’re selected, you’ll have the chance to be born in a fruitful environment where you can grow, develop, and accomplish.

Will is an arbiter who judges souls before they are given the gift of life. He spends his days observing a multitude of television screens and taking notes.

The movie kicks into motion as five different souls come to Will for an interview in order to fill the vacant spot that opened up after a 28-year-old prodigious violinist named Amanda died.

Among the candidates, the chosen one will have the opportunity to be born while the remaining are erased after receiving a parting memory.

Over the course of nine days, Will asks the candidates simple questions about life and their thoughts on the lives of others who were chosen.

The candidates are dismissed one by one, and Will recreates life experiences, like walking on the beach or bike-riding through the city for the dismissed candidates before they are erased.

Through this process, Will finds himself struggling to come to terms with his past life and the death of Amanda. In doing so, the movie constantly explores the meaning of life and asks the question of who deserves it.

Cast & Crew

The movie features Bill Skarsgard (It and It Chapter Two), Tony Hale (Arrested Development), and David Rysdahl (That’s Not Us and Black Swell) besides the aforementioned cast.

Nine Days is a co-production between Juniper Productions, Mandalay Pictures, Nowhere, Marco Media, and The Space Program, in association with Mansa Productions, Oak Street Pictures, 30 West, Baked Studios, and Datari Turner Productions.

The producers behind this movie are Jason Michael Berman (Uncorked and The Birth of a Nation), Mette Marie Kongsved (The Raid 2), Matthew Lindner, Laura Tunstall (Get Ducked and I Blame Society), and Datari Turner (Uncorked and Growing Up Hip Hop).

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