Days of Heaven

Two lovers get hired as farm workers during an exceptionally bountiful harvest. To avoid any unnecessary questions, they pretend to be siblings. When the wealthy owner of the farm falls in love with the girl, the couple decides to carry out a cruel and dangerous scheme with him.

Swaying fields of wheat, layered compositions, a carefully selected color palette, and slow, meticulous shots in the rays of the setting sun—this is how Malik envisioned his film before going silent for the next twenty years.

The filming of "Days of Harvest" progressed very slowly because one of the main characters in the film was a special golden light that could only be captured right before sunset (photographers know—that magic hour!). In terms of visual aesthetics, it is especially noticeable that Malik and cinematographer Nestor Almendros were capturing a true work of art, drawing inspiration from American artists of the early 20th century—regionalists and precisionists.