Chris joyfully walks on water with his dog in Heaven in What Dreams May Come
Chris is reunited with his children in this beautiful world. Sadly, Annie commits suicide after falling back into depression. Chris is waiting to be reunited with her, but then is told that because Annie committed suicide, she will be going to Hell. He rejects the idea and sets off on a journey to find her and bring her back to Heaven.
"The Savage State" by Thomas Cole
Heaven in What Dreams May Come
This film used many special effects, such as computer generated imaging, to create the lush visual effects of Heaven and Hell. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, due to its groundbreaking visuals of Heaven and Hell. The image of Heaven shown above resemble the natural paintings of Thomas Cole. Cole showed us a wildly, beautiful version of Nature in his paintings and awed us with his landscapes. This shot mirrors the natural landscapes of Cole’s paintings, especially "The Savage State" and "The Voyage of Light", with its use of vegetation, a lone human figure, looming mountains, dramatic lighting, and turbulent weather.
"The Voyage of Light: Childhood" by Thomas Cole
The awesome beauty of these images imparts on us the majestic power of nature, and the idea that there is a wild and beautiful nature within us, as well. In both "The Voyage of Light" and the above screenshot from the film, we see a lone human figure with his arms outstretched, as if to embrace the beauty around them. We see that we are one with nature and that the journey through the wild is also a journey of self-discovery.
In the film, Chris travels from a lush, beautiful Heaven to Hell to find Annie. He embarks on this quest, knowing that it has never been done before, and that it goes against all the rules of the afterlife. In this sense, Chris is discovering and testing the strength of his own will. In the end, he triumphs over adversity and rescues his soulmate from the depths of Hell.
In the film, Chris travels from a lush, beautiful Heaven to Hell to find Annie. He embarks on this quest, knowing that it has never been done before, and that it goes against all the rules of the afterlife. In this sense, Chris is discovering and testing the strength of his own will. In the end, he triumphs over adversity and rescues his soulmate from the depths of Hell.