Analyzing Terrence Malick’s dreamy ode to the American West
In order to analyze the locust scene in Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven it is necessary to discuss the stage that has been set up to this point and the overall narrative structure. The lighting throughout the film is one of its most distinguishable aspects because of its unique and challenging nature. Most of the film was shot during sunrise or sunset not only to portray the characters in natural light, but additionally because these transitional periods don’t produce harsh shadows. Because of the limited time frame for shooting such scenes (about 25 minutes), individually the shots are short themselves and had to be stitched together with other clips in order to portray a greater length in time. The consistent illumination adds to the dreamlike atmosphere of sweeping wheat fields, unobscured skies, and a solitary victorian mansion that sits at the center of it. The mise-en-scène of the film is by far what makes it so memorable decades later.
During harvest season there is a visible rhythm on the farm due to the collaboration and coexistence of the laborers. A consistent pattern of their daily lives makes for an attractive opportunity for the camera to introduce the audience to the setting of the film. Most shots of the farm in all its glory are steady whether they be dollied, tracking, or completely still. Néstor Almendros won an Academy Award for the cinematography of the film, though his operations were split with that of Haskell Wexler who was credited for his “additional photography.”
When the first harvest season is over Bill decides to leave Linda, Abby, and the Farmer in their days of heaven and focus on himself outside of the farm due to rising tensions. When harvest season returns, so does Bill and all of his feelings for Abby. Watching them from his roof, the Farmer spots them in the open field behaving more intimately than a brother and sister should once again. His expression intensifies as does the sound of the wind instruments as we close in on the couple and then back to the gritting farmer.
Thus begins the climax of the film and the dissent from its visual consistency since the opening scene. We are slowly made aware of the swarm that’s to come through the experiences of the main characters. Linda’s in the kitchen making dinner when she sees a locust perched on a head of lettuce. She picks it up and tosses it. Bill encounters a patch of locust in the field and we can see them hopping from blade to blade. His curiosity is heightened by a group of peacocks beginning to squawk loudly. We cut to Abby in the upstairs bathroom washing her face. When she pulls back she sees a locust floating in the bowl of water. Back in the kitchen, Linda is now feverishly swatting away tens of insects that are already inside the home. Ducks in the field are quacking again as they attempt to bite at the little creatures hopping beneath them. Then there are a series of extreme close ups of locusts perched amongst the wheat blades while the background sound of a horn gets louder and louder. The farm hands are sounding a siren, a red flag is going up, and the farmer is ordering them to “smoke them out.” We have never seen so much panic on the farm. The extreme close ups of the locusts appear again but this time it’s the sound of their buzzing that’s getting louder and louder. Cutting back to several farm hands swatting at the crops with branches it’s clear the insects have outnumbered them.
With banging drums, the score enters the scene. It is dark, intense, and unlike how we have heard before. Audibly, the scene becomes a competition between the haunting score and the buzzing of the locusts. We also see a major visual disruption with the erratic movements of swatting and stomping in panic response to the infestation. Against the backdrop of day turning to night and the silhouette of the mansion thousands of locust ascend into the sky in such high quantities it almost turns the screen black. The crew was able to achieve this look through the practical effect of dropping peanuts out of the sky and then playing it backwards in post-production. Since there are actors in that shot they were required to physically move in a reverse direction so that on screen their movements would look more convincing.
Suddenly it is nighttime, and we get a low angle close up of the farmer’s face over the fire. He is physically seething and the light paints his face in a diabolical way through use of shadows and smoke. The shots that were once slow and steady are now shakily traveling through the scene via steadicam. Smoke and darkness are obscuring the activity of burning the locusts. The only source of light in this scene is from flames and kerosene lanterns which greatly contrasts the previous mood of lighting. The camera show’s the farmer’s face when he sees Billy amongst the madness and grows violent. The camera hastily follows as the two begin fighting as the fire spreads around them and laborers scream in panic. The scene ends with a hellish nightmare where the landscape of heaven had stood days before as it now turns to ash.
