Tree of Life

Could it be Malick?
The latest directorial output from Terrence Malick arrives in a flurry of film column inches, dividing viewers by winning the Palme D'Or at Cannes, but in turn also receiving just as many deflated scowls at the ceremony.

If you are the kind of film viewer that only sees cinema as a means of narrative entertainment then stop reading now, this really isn't the film for you and you will probably find this article pretentious in some way. That includes you Dad, I love you to bits but Con Air this ain't.

To even use the word film seems almost redundant in many ways as Malick has reached new heights in creating a experience so singular and unique that it defies and rewrites the concept of conventional film making. There is no easy way to explain the plot of Tree of Life that would either make sense or do justice to the experience, (this is what it feels like more than a film-an experience). It does however, concern a family in rural Texas in the 1950s, taking in on the way, ideas of creation, evolution, life and death. The themes of our existence in the world and the loss of innocence by the eldest boy in the family are the main contributors of the film, but this my reaction to the film, I believe that each viewer will take away something different from the Tree of Life. The key is to give in to its power (and it does yield a power that becomes apparent when leaving the cinema), to immerse yourself in the vast, consuming landscapes, the intimate portrayal of family life, so simple yet so tender, the nostalgic hue of the beautifully recreated 50s backdrop and the notions of the creation of the world we live in.

Malick's camera lives every inch and detail of the everyday nuances of life, whether its gliding through the rooms of the family house, an extreme close up of a newborn baby, and in turn the vengeful elder siblings reaction to the new addition, or the realisation that life is not all about riding your bike or climbing trees, that childhood has to end. It is a journey that, once succumbed to, reaps rewards in a once in a lifetime cinematic episode. There are elements to the Tree of Life which will be familiar with viewers of Malick's previous films, with its existential mood and use of melancholy voice over. The film also recalls images usually reserved for documentaries such as Planet Earth and comparisons can be made in some of the scene's style to the film Koyaanisqatsi, which used visual images and haunting music to create a scenario of the creation of the world and the landscapes around us.
However Tree of Life still feels completely unique, the term 'like nothing you have ever seen before' is saddled around a lot in Cinema, but in this case, it resonates profoundly. That this film ever saw the light of day in the realms of contemporary Hollywood, must be attributed to Malicks clout as a director and the star wattage that Brad Pitt brings to any project. That it shares cinema listings with the latest Transformers film is absurd but also empowering.
Terrance Malick has only made five films in the past forty years but with Tree of Life, he has left an enriching encounter that will last in the memory and mind for a long time.