Summary:
A young boy comes of age in Texas during the 1950s. His parents have two conflicting ways of looking at life.
My Thoughts:
Note: This is a pretty unconventional movie, so excuse me if my review is slightly unconventional as well.
Whispered: “Lord… Why?… Where were you?”
Why are we here? What is God? What should I believe? What is death? And for that matter, what is life? What is truth? What does all of this mean? Take that last question a step further: how could any of this possibly mean anything? How can God care about us when we are so small and the universe stretches on, seemingly endlessly?
Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said: “Of the eternal questions, nothing else: is there a God, is there immortality? And those who do not believe in God will talk of socialism or anarchy, of the transformation of all humanity on a new pattern, which all comes to the same thing, they’re the same questions turned inside out.” I don’t know the answers to the questions I asked above. No one does. But it doesn’t stop us from asking them.
What good does it do, asking questions that no one knows the answers to, you ask? Well, when we ask ourselves questions that are bigger than we are, we drift into the metaphysical, and its there- in the murky greys of unknowing- that we can find answers to more personal questions.
As I stand now, I cannot tell you what God is like, but I can tell you that my meditations on the question of what God is have influenced me as a person. I can’t tell you for certain what lies on the other side of death, but I can tell you that my own beliefs have influenced my actions in life. No matter who you are and what you believe, questions that end in the metaphysical always have an influence on you now as a human being. Maybe not all questions are as important as others, but who can say? After all, the universe is an infinitely complex place, and no one holds all the answers.
“Brother… Mother… It was they who led me to your door.”
Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life is a film unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. I’ve often heard Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona” referred to as a visual poem, and that is exactly what I would call this film. The Tree of Life is more about emotions and feelings than it is about telling a narrative story. Yes, there is a story with events and conflicts that happen, but the story is so basic and small that we get the feeling that this story is meant to be something more than what is on the surface. We follow Young Jack (Hunter McCracken) through his childhood as he stands between his mother and father. His father (Brad Pitt, “12 Monkeys”) is cold and callous, and Jack’s relationship with him is strained. Jack’s mother (Jessica Chastain, “Interstellar”) is kind and warm, and his relationship with her is far better than with that of his father. There are some moments where we can tell what events are happening to the family, but for the most part, this film is about feeling what the characters feel. The film is really an experience. To try to talk about it is a poor excuse for experiencing it first hand.
Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of this film is showing the scope of life, and Malick does that by turning his camera towards where time began. There is a twenty-minute sequence in this film that shows the process of creation- beginning with tendrils of light and ending with the extinction of the dinosaurs. That sequence really helps put the viewer into the mindset of how small our lives are when looked at in respect to the enormity of time and the universe itself. From there, Malick moves his camera inwards and spends time with the family in Texas, showing how even the largest things in God’s creation still affect the smallest creatures.
Honestly, I find this review to be one of the harder reviews I’ve ever had to write for this site. No matter what I say, my thoughts will come off as trivial when compared to the brilliance of this film. I can say that if you like Malick, then you absolutely need to see this. If you can appreciate art-house cinema, then don’t miss this. Honestly, if you have an interest in film at all I think this is a movie you should at least give a chance. It’s an indescribable experience that will leave you humbled and grateful for the life you’ve been given.
Verdict:
I’ve seen a fair amount of Malick’s work at this point, and I’ve absolutely loved everything I’ve seen. That being said, his other works barely hold a candle to the genius he displays with this movie. This movie is a masterpiece, and it’s one of the most gorgeously shot films I’ve ever had the privilege to see. This film left me speechless. See it and be amazed.
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