With all the praise The Tree of Life has been getting I just had to check it out for myself, so yesterday made the trip to the cinema if it’s really a masterpiece that can’t be missed.
Terrence Malick doesn’t make a lot of movies, but I must admit that I haven’t seen one of his movies completely. I remember that many years ago I started watching The Thin Red Line, but turned it off as it just couldn’t grab my attention. I was hoping that The Tree of Life would be a different experience.
The Tree of Life is definitely an arthouse movie. Visually it’s absolutely stunning, Malick really has got an eye for pretty pictures and shooting from angles you usually don’t see that often. He mixes images of planets, nature and the creation of life with his story about the dynamics of a family where the father (played by Brad Pitt) controls everything and the effect this has on one of the boys. It’s not a lot of story, but somehow he manages to stretch this out to more than 2 hours. It’s taxing on the viewer as it moves along very slowly. I wasn’t surprised when people actually left during the movie. I noticed that I had a hard time staying focussed on the movie as well and my thoughts wandered off several times.
The images of nature are stunning and there is quite a long sequence of these. I went together with a friend and he was wondering when David Attenborough would start talking. It was a valid observation as the images did look like you were watching something like Planet Earth.
If this movie would be shown in a museum I’m sure I would have looked at it for a while, but not for 139 minutes. It’s not hard to understand why people like this, but it’s not for me (the word pretentious entered my mind several times). If I would rate it purely based on entertainment value this would probably get a 4, but it’s not a bad movie as it’s visually and aurally stunning. The Tree of Life clearly isn’t a film for everyone and I don’t belong to the kind of audience that will praise this movie and put it in my favorite movies of the year list. It lacks in story and it’s hard to completely connect with the characters. So first check what you are looking for in a movie before you actually go out and see it.
Score: 7
Brilliant. I was hoping to read your review as i know we like similar films. I am not convinced I will bother with this until it is a rental. Thanks for reviewing matey
I normally write my reviews quite a bit later, but just felt like I had to write this review immediately. I don’t think you will enjoy it as much either, but worth a rental so you can fast forward through it 😉
Great review! I haven’t seen this film yet cause I’m afraid that it would be too boring for my taste.
Thanks. Yes, it’s a movie which will bore you a lot for long periods with some stunning interesting bits in between…
this movie was agonizing to sit through. I tried to go in with an open mind……I really did. Malick is just not a flavor of cinema I enjoy.
Same thing here. I knew it was going to be an arthouse type film but was willing to try it. Probably won’t be watching any of his other movies unless someone tells me there’s one you really can’t miss…
Glad you’ve seen this Nostra and I appreciate your honest review. Malick’s work is quite polarizing and the reaction runs a wide spectrum. I’ve only seen 3 of his films and though they are not thoroughly enjoyable, I appreciate their beauty and his unique storytelling. I’ll go with an open mind when I see this, and I feel that Tree of Life deserves to be seen on the big screen.
Yes, reading several other reviews about it and listening to some podcasts you hear mixed reactions, which is no surprise. This movie is beautiful, I just thought that the storytelling was the weak part of the movie. It’s possible to call that unique I guess 😉
It is a movie which should be seen on the big screen for sure.
“The Tree of Life clearly isn’t a film for everyone”.
See this:
http://reviewingtreeoflife.blogspot.com/
Maybe you will want to see it again.
That must have taken you ages to write! I’m not planning to watch this ever again. I know that when I don’t like a movie my opinion about it almost never changes. This just wasn’t a movie that I found an enjoyable experience.
I wanted to watch is film but unfortunately it never came to my hometown of Cheltenham, so I guess I will have wait for the DVD.
With all the accolades it’s been it getting it does sound like and intriguing watch, despite like you say it being stripped of any story – which goes against everything I look for in a film!
Thanks for sharing this great and very honest review.
It has a story about growing up and dealing with some problems, but it was too little for me to get invested in….it’s worth to watch as an experience. It’s like Enter the Void, I’m sure I will never watch that again but it was worth experiencing (I was way more invested into that). At least you will be able to form your own opinion about it.
I agree about The Thin red Line, although watching it in parts in television helped me re-energize.
I’m planning not to watch this again but in the same vein as I’ll do the same to Blue Valentine. With all the critical praise for the film, I’ve barely seen them write about how it touches some of the audience emotionally, as it has with me. That’s better than any entertainment.
Ìt’s nice when you have an emotional connection with a film. It’s those movies that will be your favorites and will remember in a couple of years time. There’s lots of movies that I love, but know not everyone will. That’s the beauty of any form of entertainment, it can be a very personal thing.
This was the only movie I have ever considered walking out of and was disappointed when I didn’t. I thought it was awful.
Welcome to the blog! I did cross my mind, but I wanted to give this movie a chance to amaze me when it ended. In the end it didn’t unfortunately.
Unlike the vast majority of movies, The Tree of Life doesn’t seek to entertain and it’s certainly a very demanding film to sit through. I can totally understand why some people would walk out or loath it. Glad you gave it a chance and can appreciate its positive aspects despite its flaws.
I’m not saying that every movie should entertain but it should hold your attention on whichever journey it takes you. Look at something like Enter the Void, which I think isn’t out to entertain either and can be very demanding as well, but personally I was more invested in that than this movie. Of course they can’t be really compared, but I think you understand what I’m trying to say…
I’m always willing to give movies a chance even when it gets bad reviews (sat through Your Highness or The Bill Collector) and can appreciate when it does something right. This one really divides the audience is ok with that. Mallick is not afraid to stick to his artistic vision, which I can appreciate.
You say your “thoughts wandered off several times”…I think Malick’s intention was just that. For example for the audience to think about their own childhood , while watching the family in the 50s.
I loved Tree of life, but admit some of the nature stuff maybe was too long. I connected with the characters and was touched emotionally, but you’re not the first to say you struggled to completely connect. The slowness can divide the audience I think.
Look out for my Tree of life review in a week or two ( :
Well I thought about how I’m raising the kids, so I guess in that way it was effective. But I usually go to the movies to escape and be transported into another world while forgetting my own reality. Of course you won’t always be able to do that, but here it was because of the pacing that I did that instead of the things that were shown…
I regularly read your site (don’t always comment as I have a different taste in music), but will be looking forward to your review on it!
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