Margot Bloch

Blue Group
Due: 10/13/14
Cinematic Analysis Quarter 1
Part A:

Days of Heaven is a 1978 film about the good and evil in all types of people, and it shares the
idea with us that nobody, even the best people, can't possibly be perfect. It is written and directed by
Terrence Malick and set in 1916 America. It tells the story of a couple, Abby and Bill, and Bill's
younger sister Linda as they move across the country trying to find work. The movie is narrated by
Linda, the younger sister of Bill and everything is told from her perspective. The theme is given away
by Linda's observations as the family travels. Their moving begins when Bill accidentally kills a man
working in the steel mine and they try to escape. Bill and Abby go as brother and sister as to not
create gossip about their love. They find work in the panhandle of Texas on a wealthy farmer's land and
overhear news that he only has a year left to live. The wealthy farmer falls in love with Abby and offers
her to stay with him on his land instead of continuing North. After agreeing to stay, Bill decides that
Abby should marry the farmer in order to get his money when he dies. Unexpectedly, the farmer does
not die and so Bill does not know what to do. Eventually, the farmer starts to become suspicious of the
couple's behavior, but at the same time, Abby starts to fall in love with the farmer. A huge fire and a
swarm of locusts destroy the farmer's wheat plants and he becomes angered. He tries to kill Bill, but
Bill stabs the farmer and kills him instead. They obtain his wealth and flee the area. The police search
for them and end up killing Bill. Linda goes to boarding school, but in the end runs away and Abby
gets leaves on a train with soldiers. Nobody's perfect. There was never a perfect person around. You
just have half-angel and half-devil in you is a quote from Linda which expresses the theme. In
addition to theme theme of nobody is perfect, Days of Heaven also talks about the people's gullibility

Margot Bloch
Blue Group
Due: 10/13/14
and how willing people are to have such temporary solutions the their long term problems, which
doesn't always work out. The other migrants just leave on a train and the movie portrays them as not
having any difficult problems, yet Abby and Bill end up dealing with death and losing their old life for
choosing to stay with the farmer.
Part B:
The movie takes place in 1916, just after the Guilded Age which was from about 1870 to 1900.
Industrialization was still happening and is shown in the movie with the new technology and machines
they use. The value of goods produced by American industry increased almost tenfold between 1870
and 1916. (http://www.theusaonline.com) The rich were very rich, and the poor were very poor. There
was a very big gap between the classes and most of the time they didn't interact, which is why the
relationship between the farmer and Abby was special. The farmer did not interact socially with the
workers (except of course Abby), which was correct for that time period. Also, World War I was
happening and at the end one sees soldiers leaving for war. Chicago was the second largest city and so
this would make sense as to why the workers came from Chicago. (https://www.census.gov)
Part C:
1: Discuss how various cinematographic techniques are used to increase the viewers awareness of the
setting, characters or plot development.
The videographer uses a lot of interesting techniques such as extreme close ups and large
landscapes of the area to show different ideas. In the locust scene, many macro shots of the bugs are
used at first to show that it started only with one bug and grew until there were enough locusts to eat
the whole field. The close up shots also show the surprising beauty of the bugs. Some shots and scenes
keep you guessing about plot elements at first, which was clever because one would feel as though they
know the same amount as the young girl who is narrating the story.

Margot Bloch
Blue Group
Due: 10/13/14

3: Analyze the use of metaphor and imagery in the film, citing several examples.
Linda uses imagery and metaphors in the narrations of the plot. I've been thinking what to do
wit' my future. I could be a mud doctor. Checkin' out the eart'. Underneat'. say Linda at one point and
it is interesting because maybe to her she is only simply talking about mud, but she this could also be
referencing the lower classes of society or people underneath.

Margot Bloch
Blue Group
Due: 10/13/14
Works Cited

History of the United States Industrialization and Reform (1870 -1916). TheUSAonline.
http://www.theusaonline.com/history/industrialization.htm
Days of Heaven quotes. 1990-2014. IMDb.com, Inc.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077405/quotes .
POP Culture: 1910. U.S. Department of Commerce.
https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/fast_facts/1910_fast_facts.html