All That Heaven Allows

Screening as part of the Enzian Holiday Series! 

Enzian’s Holiday Matinee series endeavors to highlight both traditional holiday films and holiday-adjacent titles that offer a broader perspective on the season. Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows is a perfect fit, with its themes of love, family, and new beginnings set against the holiday season.

The primary inspiration for Todd Haynes’s Oscar®-nominated masterpiece Far from Heaven, this heartbreakingly beautiful story follows the blossoming romance between a well-off widow (Jane Wyman) and her handsome, earthy younger gardener (Rock Hudson). When their relationship prompts the disapproval of her children and country club friends, she must decide whether to pursue her own happiness or conform to the expectations of those around her.

With Oscar®-winning cinematographer Russell Metty (Touch of Evil, Spartacus) painting the screen in vivid autumnal colors and expressionistic compositions, Sirk transforms this tale of forbidden love into one of Hollywood’s most emotionally resonant melodramas.  Reuniting Sirk’s Magnificent Obsession co-stars through the changing seasons and culminating in a snowy winter landscape, this slice of unspoken Americana offers a particularly poignant alternative to the usual holiday fare, exploring the importance of human connection, the courage to defy convention, and the possibility of finding love when the world tells you it’s too late.

_{1955, 89 minutes, USA, In English and Spanish, Directed by Douglas Sirk, Unrated, Digital}