Friday, January 13, 2012
Places in the Heart
Watch this closing scene again. What begins as a conventional sequence of images becomes rather surprising, doesn't it? The scene unsettles most viewers. So, have a go at what you think about its meaning. What happens in the scene? What significance do you see in the sequence of images? What conclusion does it provide for this story of suffering and forgiveness? Since you have some time to think about this, let's hear a full response. This is a fitting endeavor for this holiday.
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I'd say that seeing Edna's Husband and his killer was just as shocking as was watching them die in the opening of the film. In both cases I don't expect what I see but the film is making a definite point opening and closing the film with those two characters. What i got from the first time of watching this is that nothing is absolute. Suffering and pain aren't indefinite just as happiness is. This principle is echoed in each of the characters in this film most notably in Mr. Will's case. He has known nothing but suffering since his injury, something that is apparent after his initial conversation with Edna. Through his time on the farm he acquires a relationship so close to Moze that he would risk his life for it. There is a similar progression with Moze. He comes to the farm after being out of work and discriminated against his whole life and finds solace and joy. Moze unfortunately finds out that just like the bad, good doesn't last forever. He has to leave town after getting beaten by white supremacists. You must enjoy what is good while it lasts and endure that bad because everything is subject to change at an instants notice. You must be ready to ride whatever wave life sends you. To connect this ideal back to the class, you must have faith that the good times will follow bad ones, but acknowledge nothing lasts forever.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Your summary of the last scene is so touching. You posted such a sad raw honest truth, that the good or bad don't last always. We must deal with the cards we are dealt. Friendship is just as important as love, sad many do not know this until it's too late. Friends willing to die for each other? Sounds familiar...That last scene was worth the horror of the beginning of the film. Thanks again for your views which captured the essence of truly what the film was about. You must be a writer. :)
DeleteIt is a very surprising conclusion, however I think it fits with the idea displayed in the cotton picking scene. A group of people come together despite their differences (for example Margaret's conflict with how to treat her husband after he had an affair and the tensions that came with race differences in the 20th century) to accomplish something or to bring peace to someone who is suffering. The majority of the characters find peace at the end from the help of others. For example, Mr. Will saves Moze from the KKK despite his blindness. While we do not if he is at odds with his condition to begin with, he certainly proves what he can do in spite of this condition. Also, Moze and Edna find peace in helping each other with the cotton picking. The image of a church comes up a few times in the movie, so we can assume that faith is what brings peace to people who are troubled, and the last scene at the church with every character enjoying church peacefully regardless of the differences shows us that faith is what brings people together. The ending suggests that faith is what puts everyones suffering and pain aside and lets forgiveness in.
ReplyDeleteIn the closing scene of Places In the Heart, we see all of the characters in the film sitting in church and passing the communion bread and wine. As the camera moves slowly along the pew lines, even dead characters faces appear, such as Sally Field’s husband and Wylie. This scene is a perfect closing image for a movie about suffering and forgiveness because of the symbols of the flesh and blood of Jesus that the bread and wine represent. Eating the bread and drinking the wine transform all of the characters into Jesus himself. Jesus both suffered the pain of humanity and forgave the ones who betrayed him, just like many of the characters also did in the film. The fact that Wyle and Mr. Field are sitting next to each other on the pew also brings up the theme of forgiveness once more. Another theme that appears in the closing scene is the timeless power of love. The last words that the preacher says are “Love never ends”, and throughout the preacher’s speech on love the camera stays fixed on Wayne (the cheater) and Margaret. During the closing scene, Margaret forgives Wayne for his cheating and decides to accept her back into her life. The timeless power of love is also shown at the very end, when the dead Mr. Field appears next to Sally field, showing that Sally still loves her husband even though he is dead, and that he will always hold a place in her heart.
ReplyDeleteI was very confused for a while after watching the final scene. It took me a bit to realize that Moze, Royce, and Wylie were symbolically sitting in the pews. I think the scene is tying everyone back together, because that is the message of the whole movie. They live in this small Texas town, where everyone knows each other, and everyone is looking out for each other. I also thought it was symbolic when it showed Viola and her husband driving past the church on their way to Houston. Viola violated the togetherness and trust by having an affair with Wayne. Now she and her husband are leaving the town behind, her husband oblivious of the real reason of course. I think the order that everyone is sown in is very significant. I think it starts out with a forgiveness of love between Wayne and Margaret, because as the preacher said, "love never ends.". It then goes to show some anonymous towns people, sharing the bread and wine, because everyone comes together, not just the people we saw. In the middle is the seemingly heartless banker, but even he is able to join with everyone in sharing, and forgiving. In the last pew is Moze, who even though he is gone, he is still very much remembered. Then Mr. Will, the kids, and Edna, who have all already shown their ability to share, and forgive throughout the movie. The last two, Royce and Wylie, and by far the most important. Like Moze, Royce is still remembered in the town, and is very strongly loved by his wife. And even tough Wylie killed Royce, in spirit there is forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteThe ending scene of “Places in the Heart” brings the entire town together at the church. Church is a place where you are expected not to pass doubt or judgment on those around you. It is supposed to be a place of peace, of final resting for those who have died, and a place to come together and reflect on your wrongdoings, but also the good deeds you have done. While it is shocking to see Sally Fields husband, the boy who was hung and Moze, it is a fitting ending for the movie. The fact that the cheating husband can be forgiven by his wife, and Sally Field’s husband sitting next to the boy that shot him, it shows that people have the ability to forgive one another because there faith is strong enough. However, the closing scene seems a little unrealistic to me. While most of the characters share some sort of connection with one another, their stories rarely come together. The main story takes place on the farm, and the family is only seen in town a few times. The side stories about the cheating husband and the bank teller don’t add much to the plot as a whole. So in some ways to bring the whole town together at the end is a bit of a stretch. But then again, church is a place of forgiving and bringing together those who have grown apart. At the beginning of the scene, there is an overhead shot of the church, and all the characters that have died or gone are not there. The body and blood of Christ is supposed to be a reminder that even in death, a part of Christ will always be within us. The fact that those who have tied are taking place in communion shows that their loved ones will always carry a part of them in their souls.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone who is faithful is there in that church. Dead or alive, in person or in spirit. Because in church, it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, like cheat on your wife or shot someone, you are a creation of god (I'm only saying that because they're in a church, it isn't something I necessarily believe). I also think that as they are all taking the "blood of christ" and drinking it and passing it around, they are redeeming their faith. For example Ed "Cheater" Harris holds his wife's hand, smiles, and drinks the wine. Or the banker, who was gonna kill Moze as a KKK member, but now he is in church redeeming himself. And seeing all of those people sit together in the same room and not fighting, it sort of suggests that faith and doubt can bring people together despite their issues, like how the black boy is sitting next to the sheriff whom he killed. And they even kinda smile for a moment. And finally, to do with the sequence of poeple in this scene, I think they get more important and significant as the camera goes down the line, because by the end you get to the sheriff, who if he hadn't died, a lot of horrible events in the movie wouldn't have happened, and then the boy, who if he hadn't shot the sheriff... you get it. I think this scene provides the big conclusion in the story because all the people in the town come together, put aside their differences, disputes, opinions, ideas and morals, so they can be in peace, think and pray. There is no fighting, and a lot issues like the "Cheater" and his wife's relationship seem to be solved (whether it is or not).
ReplyDeleteAs a conclusion to the movie, many characters, living and dead, convene together in a church scene. The priest recites verses which say, in essence, that without love, even great feats mean nothing. Edna’s husband’s presence in the scene gives it an obvious metaphorical context. He stands out as a major object of Edna’s love whom she had to go without through the struggles she took on. This melancholy reference is countered by the fact that love for her children, and the ties of love that she had for other characters in the scene, such as Moses and Mr. Will, gave the work that she did meaning, as confirmed by the verses. The passing of the blood and body of Christ from person to person illustrates their interconnection, and also serves as a reference to the sacrifices which many of them made throughout the film. The Eucharist also alludes to redemption given to sinners. Edna’s husband’s killer takes part in the ceremony too. A part of the community, ultimately the boy is forgiven for the accidental killing. The religious ceremony gives symbolic forgiveness to characters who have sinned during the movie. The passing of the plate links the characters together as a greater community, and the verses underline the meaning behind the seemingly needless suffering: love.
ReplyDeleteThe scene has much significance to the plot, and the most important aspect of that significance is the sequence in which the faces are shown. To begin with, Wayne and Margaret move towards forgiveness as the preacher speaks about the important aspects of love. The preacher says that love is “patient, kind... not jealous or boastful, love never ends.” As he preaches this lesson, Margaret forgives her husband, showing great patience and the never-ending quality of love. The blood of Christ, the Communion wine, progresses through the congregation, which was shed for us to have eternal life. The neighbors pass the wine, and all of the people take a glass and assist their neighbor in holding the tray. As the town musicians and the town KKK members share the ritual, they are bonded in the act of breaking bread and wine together. However, the scene changes when it reaches the row with the extended and adopted family of Sally Field’s character, Edna. There is a break in the chain, as the wine is not passed to Moze from a neighbor but rather a church volunteer. Their row represents a break in the traditions of the town. While Moze, Will, and the Spaldings are a family at this point, they are not a family accepted by the town, thus the wine is not passed directly to them. However, they share the communion in their own family, connecting through the sacrifice of Christ, which rendered all people equal. Moze is not persecuted, but a rightful member of the Spalding family. Will manages to help Possum to get wine with the aid of Frank, representing how his angry need for independence has been replaced with a gentle acknowledgement of his desire to help mixed with his own need for help. Edna passes the wine to her husband, but does not need his help to get her own wine while holding the heavy tray, which represents her newfound independence and ability to help herself. Finally, Mr. Spalding passes the blood of Christ to his assassin, and they murmur “peace of God” to each other. Both are now at peace in their eternal life in heaven, and the final scene is simply them peacefully sitting, side by side, until the screen goes dark. This scene shows the bonds that have been forged through faith, despite the differences and crimes that should prevent them, because of the forgiveness and peace that comes from their Christian beliefs.
ReplyDeleteLove how you broke down that scene where the KKK were taking communion to me representing a false love but the row where moze and the decd are represents true love, sufferings and forgiveness. The KKK to me represents that sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Real Love, the want Christ proclaims was on the back row.
DeleteSorry the one Christ wants proclaim (corr)
DeleteThe final scene of “Places in the Heart” is about forgiveness and being together. The one woman forgave her husband for cheating on her. This goes along with what is being said, “love never dies”. “Love never dies” brings up the husband who was much loved and the man who shot him because forgiving is just as important as loving and being together. Moze was just as much a part of the family as the husband was; he held a different place in everyone’s heart, but was there nonetheless. The family loved him, which relates back to love never dies. Everyone at the church suffered and everyone at the church were forgiven or forgave someone else for the suffering they caused. It is fitting the closing scene is in a church because the church is a place where everybody comes together for a common purpose and learn common manners such as forgiving and allowing love to override the pain and suffering that everyone in the movie had to go through to get to where they are now. Even the people who are no longer living fit this as they had, from what we briefly see, a common faith in forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteAs a Deacon at my church, I’m ordained to be able to serve communion and one of the things we always say before inviting the congregation forward to receive the elements is that the communion table is for everyone. This final scene embodies the idea that communion is for everyone meaning that forgiveness is for everyone. We are all sinners, and our sin separates us from God. But because Christ shed his blood for us, we are able to spend eternity with God. Part of this whole idea of everyone being a sinner means that all sinners are equal before God: Wayne is no more of a sinner for killing Royce than Dale is for cheating on Margaret. This final scene brings together the story of all of the townspeople who are suffering through the depression, perhaps in an attempt to remind the viewer that this life is only our preparation for eternity. However we live our lives, we are all human and, therefore sinners. We all come before God as equals and, because of his love and the sacrifice of his son, Christ, God forgives us for all of our transgressions, big and small. The final communion scene is just a reminder of equality, and forgiveness. It’s striking because it challenges us to think of ourselves as no better than any murderer or pedophile or rapist or whatever, but, at least to me, that’s not the most amazing part. The most amazing thing is that all of these kinds of people can be forgiven. Even if we, as humans cannot forgive, God can, and the final scene reminds us of that.
ReplyDeleteAmen!!! Love this!!
DeleteThe final scene of the movie was a fitting conclusion to the movie because it brought all the characters, living and dead, together at the church. This scene is fitting for the church because the scene of forgiveness between Margaret and Wayne and even Royce and Wiley represents that in church, one is able to forgive and move past the terrible things have might have occurred. Margaret had stated that she wouldn't be able to forgive her husband, but as the ending shows, they reconcile. Despite being dead, Royce and Wiley were able to forgive one another even though Wiley killed Royce. This is a sign of strong faith because it allows these people to get over their differences and make up with one another. It definitely comes off as being eerie that the living and the dead are together partaking in communion, but this relates back to the title of the movie. These people are all in this final scene because they have a place in each other's hearts. Moze ends up leaving, while Wiley and Royce are dead. Despite this, they all appear in this scene because they have been connected throughout the movie and they have a place in each others' hearts.
ReplyDeleteMy initial question after seeing this scene was what does the director want us to see. But so much of it is open for interpretation its hard to know what we’re supposed to take away from it. Edna casually passes the wine to her husband, this complicates the matter of whether she can see him. Prior to the communion, many of the people aren’t shown in the church, so perhaps the extra people are entirely symbolic and only the viewers were supposed to realize they were there. Regardless, this scene offers an image of forgiveness and equality as foreseen by god. When Edna’s husband along with many others in the church pas the wine they mutter, “The peace of Christ,” further stressing god’s principles. In the house of god, it seems that the Klu Klux Klan members can sit down with blacks and murderers can sit down with their victims and spouses can sit down with their cheating partners. This all occurs during communion, where Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” They must remember god’s message, and have peace between them as god wished. After reading some reviews about this final scene, I saw that some suggest that this is the scene that pertains to the title. These are all the people in Edna’s life that have had places in her heart. Perhaps, in church is the only time when she can be at peace with all the good and the bad from her life that have shaped her.
ReplyDeleteRoger Eberts comment..."The movie's last scene has caused a lot of comment. It is a dreamy, idealistic fantasy in which all the characters in the film -- friends and enemies, wives and mistresses, living and dead, black and white -- take communion together at a church service. This is a scene of great vision and power, but it's too strong for the movie it concludes. Places in the Heart" can't support such an ending, because it hasn't led up to it with a narrative that was straight and well-aimed as an arrow. The story was on the farm and not in the town, and although the last scene tries to draw them together, you can't summarize things that have nothing in common."
ReplyDeleteThe people in the church at the end need not be the persons in the story, but rather those types with the views and deeds they hold....
ReplyDeleteThis is a movie that should be watched in these times where people don't work hard for themselves and have little self reliance and where people are unkind and pit one group which they call class against other Americans and place them in another group or class.
This should be watched today in this terrible horrible political times where we are all better than those politicians who use us to propagate hate and complacency.
The closing scene in Places in the heart that takes place in the local church is best explained by knowing the theology of the Catholic Church and most Protestant Churches that broke away. Those churches believe that when you take communion that the saints that have gone before you (those that are deceased) are also at the table.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of that final scene, if you look at the congregation before communion begins none of the characters that died in the movie are in the congregation. As communion begins and the elements of communion are passed we see those that were killed in the car during the tornado and of course the sheriff and the young man that accidently killed him sitting next to him.
The last question would be why was Moze there? This movie is set in Texas in the 1930’s and we are looking at a white church would Moze be there under normal circumstances, no. So why is he in the final scene? The only explanation is that he didn’t make it out of town alive. He must have been killed by the KKK.
Yes, the movie shows the value of forgiveness, the grace of Christ.
I love the ending based on this theory.
The reason I looked the ending of this movie up is because, like Anonymous, I too felt Mose being in the church at the end but not while the preacher was preaching, (along with the other deceased characters) was because he must have been killed by the KKK. I feel this was a hidden truth for some, not all, to get. Wonderful ending IMHO.
DeleteI THINK IT WAS HEAVEN.. .AND ALSO BRINGING THE DEAD AND LIVING TOGETHER THROUGH EUCHARIST... I SOBBED AND SOBBED.
ReplyDeleteThis scene is the most powerful illustration of the meaning of the Eucharist, or Holy Communion. We believe that wherever we are gathered becomes the Lord's Table, and we believe we, and all who have gone before us, all the company of Heaven, are gathered there with us.
ReplyDelete