2 days ago I tweeted: "Terrence Malick just kicked my ass... but I think I was due for a kicking. I lost my mind in that movie." I really wasn't joking. As I exited the theatre I felt myself overcome with emotion, thought, and an intense need to do more. It's possibly the strangest movie I've seen in (at least) the last five years. That's an exceptional feet... to garner such clout as the Palm d'Or whilst being as equally hated as it is loved by the population... it just proves that the film is special. The greatest works in history have naysayers. What's more impressive is no one will simply say it was okay. Either you love it or you hate it. And I totally understand both considerations, though I do fall in the Love category.
So how do I feel about The Tree Of Life? I think it was far more epic than I could have imagined from that incredible trailer. They managed to hide so much of the film from us up till screening day and I love that. I was surprised at the scope of the thing, the operatic themes, and ballet like qualities that only added more passion and existential potency. I was shocked and excited when a certain dead animal took screen and played a massive metaphor for the duality of life. It was honestly a mind-bomb. It only affected me awesomely.
That's the biblical version of the word: Awesome.
And that's incredible when you consider the film only contains about 40% actual human performance... the rest is beautiful creative energy. I cannot imagine what that screenplay must look like.
When Terrence Malick compares his movie to any other, he says he wanted it to feel like 2001: a space odyssey. And I see that. I get how he came from one to the other. But that's not quite the movie he made. The best comparison to a movie experience I can think of... the closest I've ever come to the feeling I walked out of that theatre with, literally sped home while thundering my palms against the wheel, and tried to change something in my life as immediately as I possibly could... the best comparison is Fantasia.
. And I see that. I get how he came from one to the other. But that's not quite the movie he made. The best comparison to a movie experience I can think of... the closest I've ever come to the feeling I walked out of that theatre with, literally sped home while thundering my palms against the wheel, and tried to change something in my life as immediately as I possibly could... the best comparison is Fantasia
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