A Matter of Life and Death

When Royal Air Force pilot Peter Carter (David Niven) is forced to jump from his plane without a parachute, he expects to die. So he’s surprised to wake up on the beach, alive and unharmed. He soon meets the radio operator he had talked to just before jumping, a kind woman whom he quickly falls in love with.

Alas, if life were that easy! Peter is soon visited by a messenger from the other side who tells him that he was indeed supposed to die after jumping from his plane, and urges Peter to come with him into the afterlife. But Peter, having just fallen in love, protests.

To settle the matter of whether or not Peter gets to live on, the superiors of the afterlife agree to let Peter argue his case before a heavenly jury, forcing the pilot to consider the worth of his life as he never had before.

A Matter of Life and Death is a fun romantic fantasy that affirms that life is all about love. Though the film’s depiction of the afterlife features some obvious Hollywood whimsy, its message that love transcends death is a timeless one. The film is rated PG and is family friendly.

Runtime: 1 hour, 44 minutes
Rated PG
97% on Rotten Tomatoes
IMDb Parents Guide
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