Feature Film
Jacob’s Ladder
- by Bruce Joel Rubin, directed by Adrian Lyne
- (premiered at an unknown movie theater, Los Angeles, 29 October 1990)
Vietnam War vet Jacob might be experiencing time travel and a couple of alternative universes where he lives with a different wife in 1975 New York or where his dead son Gabe is alive again. But a full explanation of the events is never given in the plot, and it seems more likely to be the result of a government drug experiment, or maybe passing through Hell, or—most likely— a moment-of-death experience. —Michael Main
Eckhart saw Hell too. He said the only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won’t let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away, but they’re not punishing you, he said, they’re freeing your soul. So the way he sees it, if you’re frightened of dying and . . . and you’re holding on, you’ll see devils tearing your life away. But if you’ve made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth. It’s just a matter of how you look at it, that's all. So don’t worry, okay? Okay?
