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Always

Always

Romance · Fantasy · Drama · 1989

The spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.

Movie details

Always

“They couldn't hear him. They couldn't see him. But he was there when they needed him... Even after he was gone.”

1989 Romance · Fantasy · Drama 2h 2m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

The spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Always?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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City of Angels

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When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.

Winter's Tale

Winter's Tale

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A Ghost Story

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Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife, only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away.

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Bounce

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Not Easily Broken

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A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.

The Yellow Handkerchief

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A road trip through Louisiana transforms three strangers who were originally brought together by their respective feelings of loneliness.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Steven Spielberg

Written by

Jerry Belson

Richard Dreyfuss

Richard Dreyfuss

Pete Sandich

Holly Hunter

Holly Hunter

Dorinda Durston

John Goodman

John Goodman

Al Yackey

Brad Johnson

Brad Johnson

Ted Baker

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn

Hap

Roberts Blossom

Roberts Blossom

Dave

Keith David

Keith David

Powerhouse

Court is in session

Put Always on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.