Gates of Heaven (Morris, 1978)

Errol Morris' directorial debut Gates of Heaven (1978) is a peculiar documentary concerning pet cemeteries, and the people associated with them. It starts out introducing a man whose life long dream is to open a pet cemetery, because when he was young he buried his dog in a beautiful place on his property, and then buried the neighbor's dog there as well. He believed that people's animals deserve a proper burial because of the love they give to their 'masters'.

Floyd and his buddies tell the story of the cemetery that they put together, and how it was shut down. The film then moves from where these guys are in the south SF bay area to Napa, California where there is another pet cemetery. We get interviews with various people involved with this one.

Gates does not seem to have a clear thesis, or even focus. It feels exploratory more than anything. It is, more than anything, a very clear beginning to Errol Morris' filmmaking style.

The interviews are very 'real'. When interviewees are talking, it is not clear what the question they are answering is. It seems really as if there was no question at all, that Morris just turned on the camera and let these people speak. In this way we get what feels like moments of 'truth' the way film rarely can capture.

In one interview there is an old woman who begins talking about her dog that was buried in the cemetery, but soon begins talking about her life in general. With no cuts we watch this woman essentially rambling about her experiences for several minutes. She is not answering guiding questions, she is speaking from her heart. In a moment of absolute reality, a car starts off-screen and startles the woman. We see a completely honest reaction to an actual event in the context of a set-up interview.

Morris uses people's own words to construct a film that has a topic, but is ultimately about human beings. We hear people's thoughts on love and the nature of the human-pet relationship. We also hear about people's own passions, philosophies and goals, apart from their pets. It is a look into true human emotions.