Director: Terrence Malick
Writer: Terrence Malick
Stars: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain
Come, watch the tree grow!
“I didn't at all find on the screen the emotion of the script, which is the most magnificent one that I've ever read. A clearer and more conventional narrative would have helped the film without, in my opinion, lessening its beauty and its impact. Frankly, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing there and what I was supposed to add in that context! What's more, Terry himself never managed to explain it to me clearly."
- Sean Penn
Watching “Tree of life”, Terence Mallick's recent movie and the winner of this year Palme d'Or reminded me of the scene from “Clerks 2” where Randall criticizes “Lord of the rings “and states this movie was only about bunch of people walking. Oh, how I love to hear his thoughts on this film. Ambitious and unique, “The tree of life” is also insufferable and dull. It's like walking into art gallery – beautiful images, various pictures, stunning colors. Except in the gallery you have freedom – you can go around as you please, chose directions. Watching this movie is like being in the car with Terrence Mallick and he is driving. The only way out is jumping out and had I seen this movie in theaters, I'd jump out of the cinema after about 40 minutes.
I'm not a fan of Mallick's films, the only one I enjoy is “Thin red line”. But even with boring mess like “The new world”. Mallick's films always had plot and richly painted characters. “Tree of life” lacks both. One can't disagree with Penn – the longer the movie lasts, the more it unravels. I couldn't care less about the people on screen. Mallick yet again spends so much time showing nature, but the movie is almost offensive in praising it – it is not worthy of even talking about it. Nature is full of life, fascinating, always changing, restless. “Tree of life” is the opposite of that – it's the movie so boring I'd recommend watching it to my worst enemy.