Michael Cimino’s HEAVEN'S GATE is a film that seems to know that history has already forgotten the events at its center, or at the very least, the true account of those events. The film itself, though intimate and scathing, seems detached from the events that formed it, both by historical inaccuracy and the progression of the story. This, in any other movie, would stand as an overwhelming fault, a bug inside of a film that would eventually lead to its failure, both as art and effective storytelling, but the most interesting thing about HEAVEN'S GATE is that this fact seems built into the way that the film’s narrative progresses and the actions of the characters, who themselves, seem desperate to not be forgotten in the expanse of history and yet are confronted with the reality that keeping those rosy colored glasses will make them painful for the nostalgia of the past. This is most evident in the actions of the characters in the twenty minute prologue at Harvard.
In basing the first twenty minutes of his film that is extensively about the West in the East, Cimino has accentuated this longing to not be forgotten. In his book about the structure of the Western, SIXGUNS AND SOCIETY, Will Wright writes, “Hence, in spite of its actual and more prolonged adventure, the East could never match the social turmoil of the West as a context for fiction, and more precisely, as a ground for myth,” (Wright 6). As a culture we understand the idea of the West much more than we do the East, and the characters of HEAVEN'S GATE or at least William C. Irvine (John Hurt) seem to understand this fact. He seems to understand that he will be forgotten as well as the time that he spent with the protagonist of the film, James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) at Harvard. His actions throughout the scene engage the audience as we figure out what he is attempting to do, using irony to balm the pain that comes from being forgotten, but also that of nostalgia. The film, following its haunting credits, fades onto the screen with a smokey look where the bright white sky in the background almost consumes the picture itself. The church that steeples high into the sky is faded, almost gone and as the camera pans down to reveal the streets of Harvard, we see James Averill sprinting down the road, in order to make it to his oration. The film fading into the background is important because it gives us an idea of the way that they events work. This prologue to the characters, even in the moment is a thing of the past, that is painful in it’s lack of meaning and satisfaction. Averill sprinting after the procession is a moment of honesty, as we see this “man of Harvard,” having slept in or something of the sort, is now sprinting after the procession he’s supposed to have been at. That honesty goes a long way because it creates a disappointment, something that the audience has to live with a lot in HEAVEN'S GATE. As much as Averill and the audience want this moment to really be good, it doesn’t mean anything that Averill must sprint after the procession because soon, it won’t matter. It’s a thing of the past, yet Averill will hold onto those days until about the point that Irvine does, thick in the fog of battle in the Johnson County War. Averill thinks it matters now and will later, until the battle washes his understanding of humanities ways away. Conversely, Irvine seems to be troubled with this at the start of the film and does almost everything in his power to leave a mark, something that is easily juxtaposed with the conflicted nature of Irvine’s actions later in the film. He seems to be a nihilist in denial in some ways, accepting in many a way that the world lacks substance, but always, ironically trying to fight back against that meaninglessness. This is found paramountly in his speech given at the oration, following the highly elitist speech given by the Dean of Students. Irvine, in this scene, tries to ironically joke his way through the speech, reducing the oration to a trivial matter, so he and his classmates will not have to struggle with the indulgent memory of said oration.. His speech starts off explaining the uselessness of the intellectual ideals that the college environment offered the men, explaining a story in which a young man asks his friend why he is so upset? The friend responds that he was looking for something to write about, trivializing the ideals of the college, which most likely encouraged the writing and considering of ideas. He’s saying that the achievement of the men that day, doesn’t mean anything, doing so ironically in order to find some understanding of the meaning behind all of it. He, with the story, seems to be attempting to find peace with the fact that all of this doesn’t mean anything, but we still must strive on “...we must endeavor to speak with as much ability as we can, but we must speak according to our ability,” (1). He then recites a speech that seems almost for a child, rhyming and explicitly attempting to break the importance of the oration. All of this is, of course, delivered with sarcasm attempting to make all of this funny, and it is as Irvine endeavors to make fun of the Dean, but this tone seems much more like a cry for understanding than an actual joking tone. A smirk on top of the desperate clawing to be remembered or even worse the horrors of actually remembering. The film luxuriates in the past, in an indulgence that will be forgotten. Irvine in trivializing the moment simply softens the blow but strengthens the pain. The next scene has the Harvard graduates all dancing in a beautiful circle, all enjoying life the way that they hope to remember forever as the reality of their world. Of course, this isn’t the case. By indulging in the enjoyment too much they’ve indulged in the fallacy that the college is too much, and the memories of all of it will haunt them forever. They in their ignorance, want the moment to be of great importance, they want to indulge in the fact that they are having the best time of their lives, they want it to be important, but unfortunately, they do not know that it will all be forgotten, overshadowed by the mythology of the West. The struggle of whether or not to put importance in the past is at the center of the internal and external narratives of HEAVEN'S GATE. The events at the center are so violent and horrifying that we can’t ignore them and yet we may want to, as they might hurt us. The opening twenty minutes show us both characters reacting to the inherent meaninglessness of the moment, but also indulging in the moment in a way that will lead to harm. As the prologue come to an end, Irvine, drowned out by the joyful songs of his compatriots yells, “IT’S OVER!” with the type of unbridled sadness that it can’t be ignored. He knows that this moment will hold pain and the only way to keep it surviving is to live with that. Special thanks to the writing of Scout Tafoya and Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, who inspired me to write about HEAVEN'S GATE and especially the prologue, which has so much to write about in it. Bibliography
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AuthorStephen Tronicek. Archives
July 2017
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