ENTRY NINE
MY FAVORITE DEPICTION OF DEATH IN FILM
The reality of death and the afterlife is something I wrap my mind around every day. Not to say that I wish death upon myself; rather, I approach such a topic with curiosity, hoping for a sense of relief and peace. A few weeks ago, I wrote about a dream that I had of my dog, Fitz. Even though it was comforting, his visit had me recalling some death scenes as portrayed in film. There is one that stands out: “Watership Down” (1978). It is an excellent movie and I highly encourage you to watch it, but below are my detailed thoughts on the conclusion. I will focus mostly on the technical aspects and use some film jargon, but my objective here is to connect my observations of the scene with my feelings and beliefs of death.
In the filmmaking process, there are several choices for how a director might want the audience to interpret the story. The editor and cinematographer have much responsibility here because of the myriad decisions they must make when it comes to how something should ultimately look. To keep things simple, let’s analogously explore the concept of photography and social media. I just cooked a super-delicious pasta and I want to take a photo of it. Should I zoom in closely to only the food, or should I zoom out and leave some space around the plate of food within the frame of the shot? At what angle should I take it? How much and what kind of light should I use? These are some of the important questions, especially if my goal is to garner as many likes and reactions as possible. Jokes aside, the art of filmmaking actually works the same way — the editors and cinematographers must decide how an action ought to be shown on the screen in order to draw out from the audience whatever emotional reactions the director wants.
“Watership Down” has one of the most beautiful endings not just in animation, but in all film. In fact, the concluding scene’s first shot alone, which lasts approximately 27 seconds, is enough to foreshadow the principal character’s impact on the overall story. It begins with a downward tilt, vertically scanning a tree and depicting the passage of time and seasons by showing the fall of leaves. At the end of the downward tilt is the final frame of this first shot, which shows three things: the base of the tree, a group of rabbits next to it, and a rabbit who appears to be alone. In the foreground is the elderly rabbit, Hazel, who is enjoying his last supper away from the others. In the background is the younger generation of rabbits who are enjoying peace and harmony around the warren, Watership Down, which Hazel had fought for earlier throughout the film. In the final few seconds of this same shot, Hazel slowly limps away through the right-hand side — thus exiting the composition of the frame in the process — and only the warren and its rabbits remain in the picture. Again, all of this was shown in one, uncut shot, about 27 seconds in duration. Although the story could end here, the subsequent shots will be necessary for exploring the consequences of death and how it will affect the departed and their loved ones. The rest of this scene will also provide emotional closure not only for Hazel, but also for us viewers.
Continuing with the analysis of the final scene, the next few shots focus only on Hazel and the mystical “Black Rabbit of Death,” whom we might interpret as the Grim Reaper. When the Black Rabbit invites him to join the afterlife, Hazel turns to face his warren. The scene cuts to the next shot, which is essentially the same composition of the frame from the first shot, again showing Watership Down and its inhabitants. This suggests that Hazel’s visual perspective is aligned with ours; in other words, Hazel acknowledges the peaceful warren just as we are seeing it also. As foreshadowed, he is no longer in the picture this time — remember, he moved out of the frame during the final few seconds of the first shot, as I described earlier. In other words, if you compare the two shots at the 22-second mark (0:22) and the 70-second mark (1:10), the only difference is Hazel’s inclusion in the first shot. From our viewpoint, the next generation of rabbits continue to live peacefully despite the absence of Hazel later on. As Hazel gives one last look at his warren and his family, the voice of the Black Rabbit is heard saying, “You needn’t worry about them. They’ll be alright.” The scene returns to the shot of Hazel alone, who is comforted by the Black Rabbit’s words of reassurance and accepts his invitation to the afterlife. The final shots of the scene show Hazel’s spirit and the Black Rabbit flying in tandem around Watership Down before ultimately ascending to the heavens. Although the mystical spirit's presence and calling might have troubled Hazel, he embraced it in a state of peace and comfort, knowing that he led his own rabbits to a safe warren and that there will be “thousands like them” as the Black Rabbit promised him.
Hazel lived a fulfilling life and accomplished his mission, and so did my dog, Fitz. He was always loyal to me and my family, and he lived a great fourteen (14) years with us — doing everything from barking amidst our most joyous moments to comforting us in times of great distress. The film’s depiction of Hazel’s acceptance of fate and ascension to heaven is how I imagine my dog thought when it was time for us to say goodbye to him. Although my family and I spilled tears at the moment of his passing, I hope Fitz is now watching us carry on with our lives in peace and harmony. If it’s God will that I’m allowed there, then I can’t wait to give my dog a big hug when I enter the kingdom of heaven.