This documentary film talks about the pet cemetery business owned by Floyd McClure, nicknamed “Mac”, after a Model A vehicle struck his pet collie, killing it, as he narrates. Ever since that incident, he believes that pet animals deserve a proper burial just as much as human beings do. That becomes the film’s inciting incident eventually leading to pet owners who held their furry friends dear to them—like a son or daughter would—who would eventually pass away.
The documentary is of a participatory mode as almost the entirety of the film is narrative, taken from the accounts of the interviewees who want to have their own pet graveyards as well, those who have grieving experiences of their beloved animals who died and were buried to their graves—as seen in one example where a couple witness to bury their crossbred dog named Caesar, and that of Danny sharing a slice of his life being a college student who started out well but eventually became a party person, his failed love life, and his being a music composer.
The dramaturgy that makes this documentary is through the narratives of the interviewees telling of their experiences—their interviews, of which most were shots of them directly looking at the camera as if they were actually talking to their audience through the camera—which make up most of the film’s screen time.
One subtext involves that of Philip showing off his trophies in his office just to impress the employees, of which he says that he went from a salesman to a salesman-ager. Through that play on his words, he covers up his “real fear” as he attempts to memorize the routes where the vets are located to pick up the bodies of the dead animals (Ebert, R. 1997), a rather not-so-good reality of him.
Another subtext involves this time of Philip’s brother, Danny, of which after finishing his degree in Business Administration, his life becomes pitiful as he didn’t manage to find a decent job right away. He compensates for his loneliness by watching a lot of television and, one of his hobbies, playing guitar at a very loud volume and writing songs. A scene shows him that after he says of his way to combat his loneliness, he is seen sitting on his couch on the left of the frame, with a jukebox playing his songs onto the right of it, seemingly in his living room.
Lastly, at the end of the film, that of animal figurines that at first glance seem like their frozen real-life counterparts. That sequence is somehow of a “in memoriam” to the animals, regardless of what species, that were deeply held dear by their human masters.
REFERENCE
Gates of Heaven movie review and film summary (1978): Roger Ebert. (1997, November 9). Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-gates-of-heaven-1978
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