by David C. Terr

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Title: Defending Your Life

Director: Albert Brooks

Starring: Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Lee Grant

Release Date: Mar. 22 , 1991 (USA)

Running Time: 112 min

Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

Commentary
Defending Your Life is a thoroughly entertaining comedy concerning reincarnation and the afterlife. The movie was written and directed by Albert Brooks and also stars him as well as Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, and Lee Grant. Meryl, whom I usually don't care for, is quite charming in this film. The movie has a very clever premise and the acting is very good, with much lighthearted humor as well as romance, including a superb, heartfelt ending.

Plot Summary
Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) is a man who dies in a car accident and arrives in a place called Judgment City, where his life is on trial in order to determine whether he can move on to Heaven or if he has to return to Earth for another chance at life. In what seems very much like a trial, he is shown nine episodes from various times in his life and is judged based on how he handled each of these episodes. In order to move on, Daniel must prove to the court that he has overcome his fears, which have crippled him during his past life. Rip Torn plays his lawyer and Lee Grant his very tough prosecutor.

While in Judgment City, he meets and quickly falls in love with a young woman named Julia (Meryl Streep), who seems destined to go to Heaven. Will Daniel be able to join her in Heaven or will he have to return to Earth?

Religious Philosophy
Interestingly, I had very much the same idea about the afterlife a few years before this movie was released. Although I've never been religious in the traditional sense, I do believe in reincarnation and have for some time. It seems to me that the point of life is to learn from our mistakes, and that this process never really ends, so why should it end after we die? This philosophy is very much in line with many Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

My only criticism of the philosophy expressed in the movie is that the main importance seems to be placed on oneself and not so much on how well one treats others. For instance, Daniel gets criticized a couple times for not having made enough money. Although his prosecutor says that it's not about money but about fear, it still seems to me that the emphasis was on the fact that he hadn't been good enough to himself.

Movie Clips

Here's the scene in which Daniel and Julia visit the Past Lives Pavilion.

Here's a scene in which they eat at an Italian restaurant.