I have one where I'm drowning △ More Mountains

Colville’s ‘Pacific’ is a major influence on Michael Mann’s Heat. Its mood is is echoed thematically throughout the film, and a direct reference is made in one instance:

It is also referenced more subtly by other characters at various points:

While art is seen as a subjective experience, analyzing the painting in relation to the film provides a new perspective. It not only gives insight into the characters within this world, but also gives insight into the worlds within these characters. This is especially important in understanding Hanna and Macauley, as both are as deep and mysterious as the ocean view in Colville’s Pacific.

“I have one where I’m drowning.”

In learning of the artist’s background, a deeper understanding can be gained of Heat’s visual imagery and subject matter.

David Alexander Colville was deployed in World War 2 as a war artist. This meant that he was required to sketch combat imagery for military records. What was a unique position was made even more unusual by the contradictory nature of his work, for example, sketching bodies at the Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Imagine Colville, calmly sitting at a scene of horror, and matter-of-factly sketching the scene before him. An artist needs to look at an image intimately and commit it to memory in order to capture its defining characteristics, so this picture was sealed in his mind. Like someone who has spent a long time in solitary confinement, or who analyzes murder scenes on a daily basis, such experiences change a man, making him view the world in a different way.

Pacific reflects this in that it appears to be a relatively straightforward painting, but there’s something beneath. Under closer inspection, what initially seems like a mundane composition reveals psychological complexity.

The gun, the ruler and the relaxed man create a mix of symbolism, metaphor and meaning. The ruler stands for measurement and balances the gun, a symbol of violence. The calm ocean expanse balances the man’s latent aggression, (suggested by the wave breaking in front of him). The image appears calm and peaceful, but beneath it lies a controlled violence, hinting at a world beneath the surface.

Beyond the painting’s composition, the cool blue of the ocean and the solitary figure evoke a mix of loneliness and isolation in the viewer. In addition, there’s an intangible quality that can be felt: A sense of yearning for something, but not knowing what it is.

While there may not be an exact word for this emotion in English, there are words in Finnish and German that come close to describing the feelings of the painting, and by extension, the feelings contained within Heat.

The Finnish term ‘kaukokaipuu’ describes an intense homesickness for a place that has never been visited. The German term ‘torschlusspanik’ – translates as gate closing panic – a fretful sensation of time running out.

Kaukokaipuu, the strange homesickness, is echoed in Heat’s dialogue:

Neil McCauley: “In Fuji they have these iridescent algae that come out once a year in the water, it looks like L.A. at night.”
Eady: “You've been there?”
Neil McCauley: “No, I'm going there some day.”

And torschlusspanik, the feeling of time running out, is revealed in Macauley’s dream:

Neil McCauley: [about dreams] “I have one where I'm drowning. And I gotta wake myself up and start breathing or I'll die in my sleep.”
Vincent Hanna: “You know what that's about?”
Neil McCauley: “Yeah. Having enough time.”
Vincent Hanna: “Enough time? To do what you wanna do?”
Neil McCauley: “That's right.”
Vincent Hanna: “You doin' it now?”
Neil McCauley: “No, not yet.”

This shows that Colville’s Pacific is visually and thematically replicated in Michael Mann’s Heat: simple and clean, but deep and haunting.

Added to this, the themes and notions contained within Heat grow more relevant with age. This means that as time passes, each time the viewer watches the film, the pendulum vibrates with a deeper meaning.

This renewed perspective of a familiar film stirs up feelings similar to opening an old wound; healed on the surface, but raw beneath.

This is the first in a series of articles which will open up the wounds hidden within Heat. Of the many topics which could be covered, the focus will be on the following:

“There’s a flip side to that coin” Masters echoing methodologies
“A normal life, what the fuck is that? Barbecues and ballgames” rejecting the normal life
“The action is the juice” the implications of meeting your equal
“Told you I’m never going back” – The true nature of fate and endings

To begin with, it’s necessary to explore the real-life encounter which inspired Heat. In looking at the circumstances surrounding the meeting, it’s possible to gain a deeper understanding of the film’s meaning.