“Always” by Steven Spielberg

“Always” movie poster

“Always” is a heartwarming (and even sappy) fantasy film about death and letting go — to a beautiful theme song: “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” sung by The Platters. Set in the fictional location of Flat Rock, Colorado, the 1989 film is a remake of “A Guy Named Joe” (1943), a war film about the spirit of a dead man who lets go of his life by helping the living. However, instead of putting the story in the context of a war, Steven Spielberg puts his characters into World War II planes — as an homage to the original film — but in the present day. Now those planes are being used to put out forest fires, a moving premise for an afterlife adventure romance. 

“Always” features a star-studded cast of actors — Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter and John Goodman. The film follows Pete Sandich, a risk-loving aerial firefighter, who takes off with his crew in these vintage planes to fight fires. His girlfriend, Dorinda Durston, an air traffic controller and pilot, and best friend, Al Yackey, urge him to exercise more caution as his daredevil tactics might get him killed. 

And lo and behold, on what’s supposed to be his last mission before he takes a safer job training firefighter pilots, he crashes his plane while saving Al. 

A Man Shows Gratitude for His Life

Pete wanders through a burned down forest and, on a patch of green grass with flowers glowing in white, meets Hap. Played by the timeless Audrey Hepburn, Hap sits him down and produces scissors and a comb. As she trims his hair she proceeds to tell him he is dead, and what he must do now that he is a spirit. With the gift of spiritus, or “divine breath,” he will communicate with the living, who will hear him as their own thoughts. 

Hap takes him to a young pilot, Ted Baker, not unlike him when he was young. Pete’s job now is to help him. 

“That’s how the whole thing works,” Hap says. 

“Now I’m supposed to give inspiration,” Pete asks, “to some flyer?” 

Steven Spielberg’s “Always” is about an aerial firefighter who gets a chance to give back when he dies.

His Loved One Struggles to Let Him Go

Meanwhile, a year after Pete’s death, the delightfully quirky and tough Dorinda has been grieving and struggling to let Pete go. To try to ease her heartbreak, Al takes her to the flight school where he is now instructing pilots. Goodman, as always, shines with humor and heart. Pete is stationed there now, too, as a spirit guide for Ted. 

The handsome wannabe firefighter pilot begins to fall in love with Dorinda, and, contrary to his assignment, Pete tries to mess it up. Hap appears and elegantly supports him in remembering his mission: He’s there to help Ted and let Dorinda go. 

And he gets his chance to do just that when, in an unexpected turn of events, firefighters call the pilots. They’re engulfed in flames and they can’t find a way out. They’re trapped. 

Pete influences Ted to plan a rescue mission, but Dorinda sneaks onto a plane instead. Though she isn’t trained for rescue missions, Pete can’t dissuade her, so he helps her save the firefighters. After making an emergency landing on a lake, she stands on the shore beside Pete, as if she were at the precipice of a new chapter. Equally important, he helps her embrace the rest of her life, speaking to her: He lets her go by telling her to move forward, and she walks toward Ted, who has just arrived with the rest of the pilots in Jeeps. 

“That’s my girl,” Pete says. “And that’s my boy.” 

He stands back at the first hint of dawn, a man on the same shore, appreciating his life before taking off. 

Learning How to Move Forward

“Always” is not only about the dearly departed but also about those still living who must face their loss. Dorinda faces the beginning of the rest of her life — dripping wet — because she had to make an emergency landing on a lake. Baptism comes to mind. She’s exhausted by a grueling year of grief, but she is renewed. 

While the film might appeal to someone who is grieving, as a real tearjerker it might feel too fresh. But it also might encourage someone, like Dorinda, to begin taking steps into the next chapter of their lives.