Color antithesis as one of the main semantic concepts of Terrence Malick's film «Days of Heaven»

Bykova Natalia Ivanovna PhD in Pedagogy Associate Professor; Department of Directing and Choreography; Omsk State University named after F.M. Dostoevsky Office 313, Krasny Put St., 36, Omsk, 644116, Russia bukovani@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The relevance of the research topic is determined by a set of factors. Firstly, since the art of cinema is a relatively young art form, not all films are distinguished by their depth of conception and highly artistic aesthetic solution. Films that stand out for their semantic and artistic diversity are a potential that requires detailed study and reflection. Yerofeeva K. L. in the article "Vladimir Solovyov on the purpose of art: actual aspects" emphasizes the idea that "the most noticeable difference between the best works of modern world art is the idea of the inseparable unity of humanity, as well as man and nature. Such are, for example, the film "The Tree of Life" by American director T.Malik" ^{[1, p.15]}. Secondly, the art of cinema is an audiovisual art, therefore the visual series, first of all, color and light are the most important components of cinematography. The semiotics of cinema and the constant evolution of the cinema language are the most important components of scientific research. T. Malik's films are a unique combination of aesthetics and philosophy. "The principles of twentieth-century philosophy influenced Malik's cinematography more than anything else, certainly more than other people's films. His sensitivity, both calm and disturbing, is so unusual in the Hollywood context that it makes his films as exotic as tropical birds..."^[2].

The purpose of this study is to study the philosophical concept of T. Malik's film "Days of Harvest". T. Malik's work is little known to the domestic audience, the scientific literature most often mentions the artistic components of his works, while many conceptual and philosophical ideas remain unexplored. Almost thirty years after the release of the film "Days of Harvest", in a book about films and philosophy by T. Malik, published in New York, it is emphasized that despite the fact that there were many problems with understanding this film, few attempts were made to understand what the film is about and to understand it^{[3, p.126]}.

The research methodology is based on a comparative historical approach to understanding the use of color and light in the art of cinema and analyzing the color score and semantic structure of the film, combined with a unique artistic solution. Not only art historians, but also well-known philosophers, writers and artists were concerned about certain issues related to the understanding of color symbolism. Among them are such as Leonardo da Vinci, E. Delacroix, V. Kandinsky, J. W. Goethe, A. Schopenhauer, K. Roerich, M. Pasturo and many others. ^{[4],[5],[6],[7]}.

Mikheeva Yu.V. in the article "Blue color sound in film: from depth to light" notes that "color research in cinema focuses mainly on the history and technology of color reproduction, as well as on the peculiarities of its psychological perception within a certain genre and the corresponding dramatic structure of the film ..." ^{[8, p.314]}. The issues of the functionality of color in cinema, the emotional and aesthetic effect of color on the viewer, and the symbolism of color in films are covered by V. F. Poznyin ^[9]. The researchers also study various aspects of the coloristic solution of films, the perception of color and the ambivalence of color symbols. ^{[10],[11],[12],[13]}.

Creativity of T. Malik, the story of the creation of the film "Days of Harvest"

Terrence Malick is a famous American film director and screenwriter. Multiple Oscar nominee, winner of the Palme d'Or. Among the most significant films are such works as "Wastelands" (1973), "Days of Harvest" ("Days of Paradise", 1978), "The Thin Red Line" (1998), "The Tree of Life" (2011), "Knight of Cups" (2015) Time Travel (2016) T. Malik is a director who is difficult to relate to the well—known Hollywood galaxy of famous American filmmakers. He is the author of philosophically serious, profound works that raise questions of being and the relationship between man and nature, man and the world. T. Malik is one of the few professional philosophers in cinema. He received a philosophical education at Harvard University, studied film art at the American Film Institute, taught philosophy for a while, and worked as a journalist.

His film debut was "Badlands" (1973). The audience and critics met the young director's film ambiguously. The hackneyed plot about rebellious young people who are at odds with the law and are forced to go on the run prevented them from seeing the more serious components of the film and an interesting artistic solution – a visual series that will become the director's main calling card. This work outlines the main trends that will be seriously developed in the future, such as a special attitude to nature, a peculiar coloristic solution.

The director's second film "Days of Harvest", a more accurate translation of "Days of Heaven" (1978), once again turns to a similar theme. Young people are forced to flee the city, fleeing from possible persecution. However, T. Malik sets more difficult tasks for the film crew, involving special conditions for location filming and camera work. A. A. Tarkovsky wrote about how difficult it is to shoot in natural conditions, as all kinds of difficulties arise related to the weather and natural lighting. It is difficult to bring to harmony the chaos that we have in the reality of nature ^{[14, pp. 51-54]}. Shooting in natural conditions significantly delayed the process of working on the film and subsequent editing, besides, it was extremely difficult to solve the problem with the cast. The main role was played by a little–known actor at that time, Richard Gere. The difficult filming and editing period, the ambiguous reading of the film – all this led to the fact that after this work T. Malik left the cinema for twenty years.

The artistic solution of the film "Days of Harvest".

Visual arts, painting and photography, not only have a huge impact on the visual solution of the film, they are practically present in this work. The emphasis on the pictorial solution of the entire film is set initially. The action takes place in 1916, immersion in the atmosphere of the events of the early 20th century takes place from the first seconds of the film. In front of the viewer are photographs that make it clear that we are transported back many decades (Fig.1). These are photographs of famous photographers from the turn of the century, among them L. Hain, H. Bennett and others. Familiar paintings and images are more clearly fixed in the viewer's mind, so they were necessary for the director to create a visual atmosphere of perception ^[3].

Figure 1 . A shot from the movie "Days of Harvest". Photo.

The farmer's house, around which the main action unfolds, is based on Edward Hopper's painting "The House by the Railroad" (1925). Comparison of the reproduction of E. Hopper's painting (Fig.2) and the frame from the film, which shows the farmer's house (Fig.3), allow you to note details that are important for understanding the concept of the image. It is a lonely house of a man who leads a secluded lifestyle, standing against the background of the sky in a field of wheat.

Figure 2. Reproduction of E. Hopper's painting "House by the railway".

Figure 3. A frame from the movie "Days of Harvest". The farmer's house.

The sky and the wheat fields play an important role in T. Malik's film. The director set himself the task of making nature the main character of the film in order to delve deeper into the world of human-nature relationships, as well as into the world of man and man. To this end, it was necessary to find a place of action that could fulfill the assigned tasks. These were supposed to be nature paintings that fascinate from the very first seconds. It was decided to shoot in Canada, filming took place in 1976. Spanish cinematographer Nestor Almendros, who was already well-known at the time, was invited to work on the film, and he had already demonstrated his ability to work with light more than once. Most of the episodes filmed on location were recorded in natural light. The director tried to convey the special magic of nature's impact on humans. To create a unique atmosphere of grandeur and beauty of nature, many scenes were shot at sunset. At the moment when the sun begins to disappear below the horizon and the last rays of the sun fall on the earth, the entire color palette is distinguished by its unique beauty: the color shades shimmer with stunning combinations of light and shadow (Fig.4).

Figure 4. A frame from the movie "Days of Harvest". Sunset.

"In the composition of the frame, the sky is one of the main characters. The intra–frame perspective is built in such a way that we see many events against the background of the sky, or against the background of the horizon, hence the feeling of endless, boundless space surrounding a person ... Clouds running across the sky, haystacks, locusts, sunset firmament - each of these frames can be an independent work of art. The viewer sees birds among the ears of wheat, a rabbit, a herd of horses – all this creates an emotional background for the perception of a spiritual attitude towards nature, which, with its beauty and harmony of colors, is opposed to the severity and rudeness of human life" ^{[15, p. 152]}. Nature embodies the beauty, harmony and tranquility of the world around a person (Fig.5, 6).

Figure 5. A frame from the movie "Days of Harvest". River.

Figure 6. A frame from the movie "Days of Harvest". The world of nature.

"The camera angle is usually low and very rarely neutral or high. The low angle allows the operator to build an intra-frame composition in such a way that the viewer sees the horizon and sky in perspective. The beautiful sunset sky and floating cumulus clouds accompany the actions of the characters almost throughout the film. The dominant natural lighting of the evening twilight colors everything that happens in an extremely peculiar color palette" ^{[15, 153]}.

The color antithesis as the main semantic concept.

The narrative space in the art of cinema is constructed in different ways, depending on the director's approach and the artistic solution of the film. The main idea and various conceptual aspects are formulated in cinema by a fairly large set of artistic techniques. Being a synthetic, audiovisual art, cinema conveys to the viewer the concepts embedded in films, using the numerous possibilities of the cinema language. Lotman Yu. M. in his work "Semiotics of cinema and problems of kinoesthetics" comprehends various aspects of the aesthetic concept in cinematography ^[16].

The dramatic level of film narrative, associated with characters and their actions, is another level of perception of the art of cinema, in which the narrative is the most important semantic part along with the visual structure. There is very little action in T. Malik's films and the characters themselves are sketched quite schematically. Some researchers note, reflecting on American cinema, that many characters are of the same type. For example, M. V. Bezenkova, talking about films about the Second World War, notes that "it is difficult to separate the characters from the "Thin Red Line" (T. Malik) from the heroes of the film "When the fanfare is silent" (J. Irwin). Each of them is certainly a living person, but he cannot become a "hero of that Time", he has no character. He is only a sign of man" ^{[17, p.33]}. A similar remark applies to the film "Days of Harvest".

The characters are not full. They perform another task – they illustrate the author's idea. We can agree with the opinion of Yu.V. Mikheeva: "American director Terrence Malick frankly, despite possible audience rejection, uses the "high style" of the author's statement in his films. A recognized master of independent cinema, with a philosophical education and leading a reclusive lifestyle ... Malik is an example of metaphysical thinking through cinematic means, which is expressed primarily in the extraordinary beauty and grandeur of the visual range of his paintings" ^{[8, pp. 328-329]}.

As noted above, the aesthetic side of T. Malik's films has attracted and continues to interest film art researchers. At the same time, if we focus only on the visual beauty of the images, without evaluating the intertextual references and "referential depth", it is impossible to see the fullness of the director's intention ^[3].

From the point of view of the plot, we have a banal story before us: a young man, a worker at a steel mill, Bill (played by Richard Gere), as a result of an argument at work with the foreman, pushes him sharply and he falls. The viewer does not know whether he is alive or not. But Bill, along with his sister Linda (played by Linda Mantz) and his beloved girlfriend Abby (played by Brooke Adams) immediately leave town, posing as a brother and sister. They flee to no one knows where, they have no means of livelihood, and therefore they easily accept seasonal work on the farm. The farmer (his name is not specified, the role is played by Sam Shepard) lives alone in a large house, leads a closed lifestyle. A pretty young girl, Abby, attracts his attention. Bill accidentally finds out that the farmer is terminally ill, and offers Abby to respond to his feelings. The wedding took place. Abby treats the farmer well, she's starting to like him. But their relationship with Bill continues, and when the farmer finds out about it, a conflict arises, as a result of which Bill kills the farmer. Not on purpose, the farmer came with a gun, tried to attack, Bill had a tool in his hands that he was working with, and he inflicted a fatal wound. Then another attempt to escape from justice, which ends unsuccessfully. They were found. Bill is dead.

One cannot disagree with the researchers who believe that "The Days of Harvest are much more than a love triangle at the level of melodrama, class antagonism or a Western ^[3]. "The characters' interaction with nature and with each other illustrates themes of love, loss, and spiritual growth. Poetic narration, voice-overs, and philosophical reflections of the characters depict events of deeply personal and meditative perception" ^{[18, p.51]}.

The multi-layered level of the concept and the existential space of the film suggest the need to take into account several components: images of the main characters, images of nature, voiceover (constantly present in the works of T. Malik), the semantics of the title and the visual series. Within the framework of this article, the task is not to highlight all semantic components, the emphasis is shifted to a coloristic solution.

There is very little action in the film and almost no dialogue. The viewer's attention from the first scenes to the last is focused on the pictorial solution. In every director's work, the aesthetic space of the film becomes fundamental. It is no coincidence that researchers analyzing the works of T. Malik sometimes focus on the symbolic or conceptual interpretation of the entire coloristic solution of the film or even one color. For example, Mikheeva Yu.V. in the article "Blue color sound in film: from depth to light", using the example of the film "The Tree of Life", analyzes ways to create a color-sound cinematic image of blue in films, in which it becomes not only a defining color palette, but also an essential element, along with sound and a complex semantic structure. "In this case, the blue color, dynamically changing on the screen and interacting with sound, contributes to the embodiment of the semantic layering of the drama of the picture and its synesthetic perception by the viewer" ^{[8, 316]}. In the film Days of Harvest, blue is also very important, but it is one of the components in the color palette: yellow wheat, green grasses and trees, blue clouds and a river, blue expanses reflecting the limitless possibilities of the natural world. Blue is an integral part of nature, against which tragic events unfold. Shades of blue by T. Malik are really amazing in their beauty and richness of colors (Fig. 7).

Figure 7. A frame from the movie "Days of Harvest". Blue.

Since the images of the main characters are schematic, their content is revealed indirectly, primarily through a visual series. T. Malik's films are like a Greek tragedy. In the tragic theater, as in T. Malik's, actions are both over-defined and ambiguous. Character for the Greeks is fate ^[3]. A certain predestination is embedded in the images of the heroes of the "Days of Harvest" by social inequality and living conditions. The class conflict, which is present in the problematic of the film, is not fundamental. Bill cannot be considered a "class rebel" who hates the rich — he likes their lifestyle too much ^[3].

The problem is more complicated. The color antithesis helps to solve the problem. The first minutes of the film, which show the steel mill, immerse you in an atmosphere of gray-brown shades, against which the furnace fire becomes aggressively irritating. Sparks, orange-red flashes, noise, lack of natural light – all this makes the atmosphere oppressive and negatively affects people. Tired Bill throws coal into the furnace. The viewer practically does not hear the conversation between the foreman and Bill. And this is not a technical marriage. It doesn't matter what claims they make to each other. An atmosphere of aggression and irritation is important, which is provoked by hard work and the surrounding space itself. Color and sound. The viewer does not yet know that a tragedy can happen, but the whole sound sequence organically leads to what is happening (Fig. 8).

Figure 8 . A shot from the movie "Days of Harvest". Factory.

All the scenes depicting the steel mill are made in this color palette. Dark shades of brown tones with fiery flashes. The coloristic solution of the film changes dramatically when the characters leave the city. It's a different time for them. There is an opportunity to change everything in life. The color palette of these episodes is completely different. Nature dominates, which is self-sufficient, harmonious and beautiful in itself. It is no coincidence, as mentioned above, that most of the scenes were shot on location in natural light, so that nothing interferes with nature being what it is in real life.

Long shots showing the viewer the beauty of nature make the narration slow down. For many episodes of the film, nothing happens. The main character is the world around the characters. Despite the hard work of seasonal workers, it cannot be said that they are unhappy here. Nature stabilizes everything. At the same time, one can agree with the idea that it would be a mistake to interpret T. Malik's images of nature as benevolent or beneficial towards humans ^[3]. Nature is harmonious in itself. It is an integral part of the world of our planet, originated long before the appearance of man and can be kind or cruel to people. It depends on what a person is doing in this world.

In T. Malik's films, nature is not orthodox. It's full of surprises. A more accurate translation of the film's title is "Days of Paradise." The hard work of seasonal workers living in wooden barracks is hardly heavenly. It can be concluded that paradise in this context is an opportunity to become different, to change internally, to correct mistakes. A voiceover helps the viewer to comprehend the story of the characters. The voice of Bill's sister, Linda, is heard telling the parable of fire. Linda is a teenager, her story is naive and straightforward. But it is he who brings the semantic concepts of the film to the biblical allusions and images of fire.

The heroes have escaped from the city and are riding on the roof of a train into the unknown. It is at this time that Linda's voiceover sounds. She tells us that the earth will be engulfed in flames, fire will come from all sides, and everything will burn in flames. People will scream, call for help. Good people will be saved, but those who have committed bad deeds will not be heard. This story, told by the girl, does not cause any gloomy forebodings in the viewer, since the color palette of the film is changing at this moment. The dark cinnamon color combinations illustrating the scenes at the factory and the aggressively irritating light of the fire are a thing of the past. The characters are traveling to the future, and it feels like nature is favoring them. There are bright, warm, joyful tones all around. This fragment should destabilize the audience's feelings. In T. Malik's cinematic style, the technique of destabilizing the understanding of what is happening and expected events is often used.

The narrative space of the main part of the film is filled with a small number of events. The natural world provides heroes with a second chance, the opportunity to think and make decisions. That's why there's so little action. No one is looking for them here. They have earned money and can start to arrange a personal life. But the desire to cheat someone else's money turns out to be stronger. The girl Abby, whom the Farmer falls in love with, does not make an independent decision. She agrees with Bill's opinion, then with the Farmer's desire and reciprocates it, then secretly meets with Bill again. This character is more of a puppet. It is no coincidence that all the accent shots and close-ups against the background of nature mostly depict Bill and the Farmer. Nature, which is not just a backdrop in this film, helps to focus on those on whom the outcome of events depends. It's Bill and the Farmer. The director repeatedly shows their faces in close-up against the sky (Fig.9, 10, 11).

Figure 9 . A shot from the movie "Days of Harvest". Bill (Richard Gere).

Figure 10 . A shot from the movie "Days of Harvest". Bill.

Figure 11 . A shot from the movie "Days of Harvest". The Farmer (Sam Shepard).

There are quite a lot of such frames. The blue sky helps to focus on the emotions of the characters: thoughtfulness, joy, anxiety. The tranquility and harmony of nature are deceptive. The days of paradise may suddenly end. Biblical allusions are present in the film many times. One of the most readable is the locust invasion. Chapter 10 of the biblical book of Exodus tells how locusts attacked the whole land of Egypt and spread throughout the country in great numbers, because Pharaoh did not keep his word. A locust invasion is a punishment. In the film "Days of Harvest" it is not possible to say unequivocally to whom this punishment is intended. At first glance, a farmer. Because his wheat crops were destroyed. On the other hand, it wasn't his fault about Abby. He's being honest with her. However, as noted earlier, T. Malik's nature does not take sides in the conflict of people. Nature provides a chance for everyone to escape, and anyone can be punished. The farmer is not perfect. He owns fields of wheat, which he has to work from morning to late at night to harvest. Seasonal workers are cheap labor.

And even in this situation, there was still a way out. They are trying to collect and burn locusts. But the heroes couldn't handle their emotions. Aggression and irritation caused by locusts and provoked by fire again. Just like Bill, who gets into a fight at the factory, under the influence of fatigue and the aggressiveness of the environment. A farmer, saving wheat from locusts that are harvested and burned at the stake, at some point cannot withstand the aggressive effects of fire and the whole situation, unable to cope with his emotions, sets fire to the fields. He found out about Abby's infidelities. The composition develops cyclically. The color solution is almost identical. The same gloomy brown shades and aggressive flames of fire (fig.12).

Figure 12 . A shot from the movie "Days of Harvest". Fire.

The color antithesis works in this film as one of the main semantic concepts. The red and brown color scheme of the frames, which depict a steel mill and a fire in the fields of a farm, personifies the dark sides of the human state of mind. The antithesis is represented not only at the level of color, but also at the level of psychological content of images. Bill and the Farmer are not antipodes. Their conflict is largely predetermined. The parable, which sounds like Linda's voiceover, is forgotten by the viewer and comes to mind only when all the fields are really engulfed in flames and the fire occupies all the space in the frame. There is a feeling that he is really from all sides. And then the question arises, who can be saved and who can't? There is no way for Bill and the Farmer to escape. Their actions do not allow them to escape punishment. In terms of an unambiguous interpretation of the parable, it is impossible to divide people into "good and unkind", "good and bad". In this context, the task is not to balance the guilt and punishment of the heroes. They become victims of either their ambitions, greed, or jealousy and intemperance. Locusts appear, fire comes after them, and the harmonious balance in nature collapses. The "Days of Paradise" are over for the heroes.

The composition develops cyclically. The characters are forced to run again. And again, as at the beginning of the film, the color scheme of the scenes changes. The fire has been extinguished, and nature has regained its balance. In front of the viewer, beautiful landscapes are again immersed in a state of tranquility. But this is not the state of the characters – they are fugitives who are being chased. This is the state of the world around us. The antithesis is more clearly present in these frames. The characters' anxiety and worries contrast with the harmony of the world around them. Nature no longer cares about the three fugitives in hiding. The world continues to live its life. Nature gave them a chance they couldn't take, and she doesn't care about their fate anymore. They are banished from paradise.

Conclusion

T. Malik's films are a kind of attempt by cinematic means to depict the depth of the philosophical director's metaphysical thinking. The aesthetic side of his works continues to amaze and fascinate the viewer with the beauty of the frames and the thought-out intra-frame composition to the smallest detail. The symbolic content of the coloristic solution and the detailed elaboration of the light palette are all part of the director's idea, revealing various aspects of the relationship between nature and man at the level of an existential worldview. The lack of a dynamic plot, a certain unambiguity and predestination of images are necessary for the director to focus the viewer's attention not so much on the personal experiences of the characters, but on the awareness and comprehension of their actions and the world order as a whole. Thoughts and ideas in the art of cinema are much more difficult to express than, for example, in a literary work. The semiotics of cinema is more difficult for the viewer to perceive and read, so many directors try to find their own artistic solutions to represent the idea. For T. Malik, the color palette becomes the way to display the director's concept. In particular, in the film "Days of Harvest", the coloristic solution and the antithesis at the level of color contrast of individual scenes allow the viewer to help immerse themselves in understanding the author's concept of the film.