structure in Gates of Heaven

Although I have seen the film only once I’m going to give my idea of the structure in Gates of Heaven. Based on the discussion we had in class, we identify the speech by Florence Rasmussen as the middle or hinge of the movie. Dr. Campbell pointed out the first word of the movie is inspiration and the last is hope.

I see the structure of the film almost as a “V” in one sense. It begins with the obsession of one man in building a pet cemetary. This is the purpose of his life. It ends with the obsession of music in Danny (the younger brother). Playing music out of his 100-watt amplifier to hundreds of dead pets is the meaning in his life. Music is his dream, his obsession, what he latches on to. Much how the man in the wheelchair was obsessed with creating a pet cemetary, and he made that the purpose of his life.

Those two instances would be the tops of the “V”, then throughout the first half of the film the dream deteriotes until the point the cemetary must close. This leads us to the speech by Florence Rasmussen which chronologically and thematically connects the two parts. The second half of the film begins with Calvin explaining the business of the pet cemetary, how he thought it was necessary to take on these 400 misplaced pets out of the benefit of the business. As the film progresses, we move from a description of a business to the dreams of a young man and how that fits into the business he is working in. The movie then comes full circle and shows how the meaning of life can be described by ones hope, inspirations, and dreams.

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