My husband and I went to see the Terence Malick movie, The Tree of Life, over the weekend.
First of all, let me say that we both proclaimed it the “weirdest” movie we had ever seen, yet I can’t stop thinking about it. At least 8 people walked out of the theater during the first third of the movie. But, there were around a hundred people who stayed until the end (and it is two and one-quarter hours long). By the way, 87% of critics rated it positively as opposed to 67% of moviegoers (Rotten Tomatoes).
There are two ways through life, the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow.
Winner of the Palme d’Or (highest prize awarded to the director of the best feature film) at the Cannes Film Festival, Malick shows these two ways through the mother and father of a 1950’s family, the father played by Brad Pitt, who is also a producer of the film.
The mother (played by Jessica Chastain) is very loving, nurturing, and understanding. She sees the small graces available to her every day. At the same time, she knows that life is unpredictable and feels the pain when sorrow invades.
The father loves his family but doesn’t really know how to show it. He sees the world as competitive, and tries to distill discipline and toughness in his children. He feels the weight of the world. His escape is music, the path not taken.
We seem to have certain expectations of our movies these days. We expect a plot – a beginning, middle, and end. We expect a fast pace, action, drama, or laugh out loud comedy. We want to be entertained. Nothing wrong with that.
This movie, however, takes a different route. The cinematography is exceptional. Much of the story is told through images, with one critic saying that it was like an impressionistic painting. Roger Ebert said that it created a spiritual awareness.
The story revolves around the oldest boy (in a family of three boys) growing up in the 1950’s. The timeline skips around, with scenes of the boy as a middle-aged man (played by Sean Penn), as well as a long interlude without people that shows the creation of the world (see excerpt in video below).
It moves intentionally slowly.
To me, it says that living in wonder, wonder at how we came to be, and wonder at all that is around us that we often take for granted, is the only way to go. Hmmmm, just want I want to convey through my photography workshops.
If this has you intrigued, go see it. But, if you don’t like it, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Related Reading
The Tree of Life Official Trailer
The Tree of Life Official Site