7/26/2019 Cinematic Analysis-Days of Heaven

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Emily Fox

Blue Group

Cinematic Analysis Days of Heaven

Part A: Summary

The 1978 filmDays of Heaven, directed by Terrence Malick, set in 1916, is a tale that addresses

the theme that nobody is pure evil or pure goodness.

The filmtells the story of a young couple, Bill and Abby, who call themselves brother and sister.

Linda, Bills actual younger sister, who narrates the film, states at the beginning that people who are good

go to heaven, and people who are bad go to hell. After observing events that happen in her youth, she

realizes that nobody is completely good or completely bad. Bill, Abby and Linda move from Chicago to

Texas after Bill kills one of his coworkers in the factory in which he works. They start working for a

farmer in Texas, who is sick and will die soon. When the rich farmer falls in love with Abby, Bill

encourages her to marry him, because when he dies, they can get his money. However, the farmers

health does not deteriorate, and Abby accidentally falls in love with the farmer. The farmer soon finds out

that Bill and Abby are actually lovers. This hurts him so much, because he loves Abby with all his heart.

He confronts Bill and Abby in a hell-like scene where there is a swarm of locusts and the farmer

accidentally sets all his wheat on fire. He ties Abby to his house in his rage, and lets all his wheat burn.

Everything goes downhill from there. In the morning, the farmer confronts Bill with a gun, and Bill stabs

him in the heart and kills him. Bill and Abby flee again. Linda, who has been observing the story, remarks

that nobody is perfect. You just got half-devil and half-angel in ya, she says. Everyone in the film has

good sides and bad sides to them. Police find Bill and Abby, and shoot Bill. Abby is devastated. She

leaves Linda at a dance school, and takes off on a train. Linda runs away from the school with a friend

that she meets.

Part B: Historical Analysis

Days of Heavenwas set in 1916, during the Progressive Era. It shows locust clouds, distribution

of wealth, and the life of children during the early 1900s in a generally realistic way.

7/26/2019 Cinematic Analysis-Days of Heaven

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Emily Fox

Blue Group

The film depicts a huge cloud of locusts closing into the farm all of a sudden, and in the film this

is meant to be an act of god on the characters. For 19th century American farmers, a sudden locust cloud

must have literally looked and sounded like a biblical plague (Chris Bennett,westernfarmpress.com).

However, the film is set in 1916, and the Rocky Mountain locust was extinct, with the last recorded

sighting in 1902 (Bennet, westernfarmpress.com). In general, locust swarms were a big factor in

farmers harvests and income at the turn of the century. They provided a serious problem for Midwestern

farmers, so in this way, the film was predominantly historically accurate.

The films narrator, Linda, is a girl who seems to be about 13 or 14, does not go to school and

instead works along with her parents. In present-day, children would never be allowed to work much less

do physically demanding labor as depicted in the film. During the early 1900s, Rural children often

worked on their familys farms, helping with the endless tasks that were completed using human and

animal power (Library of Congress, loc.gov). Linda also does not go to school. By 1920, all the states

required students aged 8 to 14 to attend school for part of the year; in rural areas, the school year was

somewhat shorter because young people were still needed to work on the farm (Library of Congress,

loc.gov). In 1916, school was not required, so it would make sense that Linda wouldnt go to school,

especially in such a rural area.

The farmer inDays of Heavenis exceedingly rich, in contrast to Bill and Abby who have almost

no money and are paid very little. The farmer lives in a gigantic house, while Bill and Abby are using the

hay as warmth during a blizzard. Most of the wealth was in the hands of a few peop le at the top of

societys social pyramid. At the bottom of the period were the black and white tenant farmers living in

poverty in the countryside (Howard Zinn,A Young Peoples History of the United States, 37). The other

workers on the farm have similar conditions as Bill and Abby.

In general, the way the film portrays the distribution of wealth, locust swarms, and daily life of

children in 1916 is accurate.

Part C: Symbolism/Cinematography

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7/26/2019 Cinematic Analysis-Days of Heaven

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Emily Fox

Blue Group

The theme, that nobody is pure evil or pure good, goes along with the symbols of heaven and hell

throughout the film. Before Bill and Abby move to Texas, when Bill worked at the steel mill, Bill kills a

man. The steel mill is loud and full of fire. Tempers run high and this represents hell. When Linda, Bill,

and Abby are on their way to Texas, Linda narrates a vivid description of hell:

Flames will come out of here and there and they'll just rise up. The mountains are gonna go up

in big flames, the water's gonna rise in flames. There's gonna be creatures running every which

way, some of them burnt, half of their wings burning. People are gonna be screaming and

hollering for help. See, the people that have been good - they're gonna go to heaven and escape

all that fire. But if you've been bad, God don't even hear you. He don't even hear you talking.

When Bill and Abby first get to Texas, there is a congregation of church standing in the fields. The sky

light purple, and everything is peaceful. This represents heaven. Most of the movie before the climax is

heavenly, with the beautiful setting around the characters. The climax, when the farmer confronts Bill and

Abby, represents hell. The plague of grasshoppers and the burning fields are both demonic symbols, and

the farmer is the devil, yelling, Let it burn! The days of heaven are over now, and the plot goes

downhill from here. The farmer dies, Bill dies, and Linda is left at a boarding school. However, Linda

realizes that nobody on Earth is good or bad. Apersons life cannot be described as completely good nor

completely evil. Nobody's perfect. There was never a perfect person around. You just got half-devil and

half-angel in ya.

The cinematography ofDays of Heavendeveloped one of the themes of the movie that nature is

powerful, and like all things, nature is neither evil nor good.Days of Heavenis shot beautifully, with

powerful shots of the plains and with gorgeously precise close-ups of animals. The shots of the vast plains

make the troubles of the plot seem small, and nature rules over everything. The industrialization that

humans bring on earth fails to overcome nature. The locust swarm stops the harvest that year. There are

amazing microscopic shots of a grasshopper eating a single grain of wheat. Nature is beautiful, but it does

not pick sides. It is a neutral all-seeing force that preserves balance.

7/26/2019 Cinematic Analysis-Days of Heaven

4/4

Emily Fox

Blue Group

Works Cited

1.

Bennett, Chris. "Weblog post." Farm Press Blog. N.p., 7 Mar. 2013. Web.

2. Zinn, Howard. A Young People's History of the United States. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

3. Teacher's Guide Primary Source Set. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.