adonis98-743-186503
The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings. The problem with Terrence Malick for me is definitely the way he films his movies, way too many shaky cam and alot and i mean alot of shots too close to the actors faces that make it impossible to understand what the heck is really going on. The perfomances weren't anything special either and the actors just seemed way too sad for no reason for to actually explain it properly. Don't waste your time. (0/10)
eliotkeith
This is Terence Mallick's magnus opus in my opinion- and yes, I am aware of the fact that this is Malick I speak of, a man who has made some masterpieces. Tree of Life encompasses everything- from the search of purpose and meaning to the beginning and end of time itself. Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain and the kids all are more than competent and would have jumped at the chance of working with a master. Beautifully shot as only Malick can(the camera flows so smoothly) and containing what I consider one of the most important sequences(beginning of time) ever put on film The Tree of Life is a work of art.
theresamgill
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job 38:4, 7 This is how Terrence Malick begins The Tree of Life. This may seem like a somewhat ordinary occurrence, but for those who haven't seen his films, he is also the director of Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, and most recently Knight of Cups. He is a philosopher who disregards conventionality in favor of non-linear, visual storytelling infused with natural light and beautiful nature. And The Tree of Life probably is the most evident example. At its most base form, this film chronicles the beginning of the cosmos up to the 50s era of a Texan family with 3 boys (one is Mud star Tye Sheridan) led patriarchally with Brad Pitt and a quiet, loving Jessica Chastain. So far so good, I guess. Also throw in Sean Penn as the future adult of one of the kids, and already you can tell how the non-linearness will unfold. But you can't tell. The first 10 minutes are a grieving mother, the next 10 are of a contemplative and questioning Penn, then you get about 45 minutes that literally goes from the beginning to present day with a couple of dinosaurs mixed in. And it's not there for eye-candy, but it all means something-- this includes all the shots of trees and the metaphors represented (similar to some of the graduation speeches I listened to yesterday). And I truly believe none of this works without Emmanuel Lubezki. Wait, who? Lubezki is probably the best cinematographer, at least of this generation, and is responsible for being director of photography for Gravity, Birdman, Children of Men, and my darling The Revenant. All I can say is this film is beautiful. Is it worth watching? Well I think everyone should see at least one Malick film, and Days of Heaven is a good choice, but this film is better along with The Thin Red Line which I would argue is the equal to Saving Private Ryan for war films. With that said, dialogue is sparse and this can be frightening. But what it is is one of the greatest stories told, er rather watched, and right up there with Boyhood on the depiction of boyhood. There is so much I understood and learned and awed at, and there's definitely even more for me to understand and connect with. You will not want to see the film again the following week after watching because of the hidden details you missed on the first viewing; no, you'll be thinking and thinking and in a year or two will absolutely have the urge to rewatch it. Words don't describe this film. Neither does dialogue. You watch and feel the love, the sternness, the intertwining emotions of the family. There isn't trivia to learn and gain by watching, but there is knowledge to gain and perspective to behold. I'm not saying you will love it, but you will come away with something old, something new; memories of your life and an appreciation of the known and unknown.
You can find this review and dozens of others at gillipediamoviereviews.blogspot.com
priscila_garcia
The movie that I saw was The Tree of Life. This film was directed by Terrance Mallick in the year 2011. He has also directed a similar film like The Voyage of Time. The message that the director is trying to portray in this film is that events in your childhood make you the person you are today. On one particular scene Jack's father is showing him how to "be a man" but this all built up on how his relationship with his father is not a very good one. While Jack and his father were arguing the shots that the director took was at a low angle, showing their whole body. The director also zooms in on the actor's faces so the audience can see their facial expressions. Terrance Mallick mostly films at the house where Jack grew up showing his childhood. The events that occur in Jack's life shows how he grows each day as an individual. The actors did do a good job on the role each of them had to portray, it seemed to come naturally each time they spoke. Each shot that the director took helped create the message of this story because it shows how his brother died and how he and his family bared with it. A shot that caught my attention was when the mother found out that one of her children died. You see her running around screaming which is how most would predict how a mother would react over her child. I would give The Tree of Life eight out of ten stars because I feel that there can be room for improvement to make this movie better.
