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The Tree of Life


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Watched it in a cinema with about 2000 other people last night ... a fair amount of shifting in seats and a couple of inappropriate laughs...

 

- Nice cinematography,

- Brilliant editing (holding back which was a nice counterpoint)

 

But I'm going to be devils advocate here:

 

Did have a small element of 'insurance commercial'

Overdone Dune-esqe voiceover

Effects remind me of two particular OS X screensavers

Over wrought score

 

I probably will see it again - but my initial reaction is that expectations were higher than reality...

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I think I agree with Chris, though I'll be less coy - I thought it was a disaster and an awful waste of time. Had it not been attached to Terrence Malick's name I doubt it would have gotten distribution at all, even straight to DVD. Really - screen it in a vacuum absent of film pretense, and I'd bet the audience walks out (like they did here at IFC in NY). The audience, in unison, groaned after each of the 4 fake endings, as if to say "how can you possibly continue to punish us?" Film/digital/whatever - I think that conversation misses the point entirely. There were about a handful of interesting shots, but if you're looking for stunning - watch Planet Earth or Life. At least they didn't draw-in stars or dinosaurs. If you're looking for plot, story or even character, watch ANYTHING else... Tyler Perry can sling together something more compelling than that drivel. Tree of Life really felt like a jumbled mistake, like the editor tried to cut around a senile director losing his mind... in order to salvage bits and pieces into an art-film. Malick brilliant? Well, he hired Ennio Morricone on Days of Heaven, so at least back then he wasn't totally insane. Seriously, even for the curiosity factor just skip this film - too many GOOD films out there to watch with your 3 hrs.

 

My friend (an editor) has actually vowed never to trust my movie selection again because I dragged him to this. That's $14 I could have spent on a burger. Or anything else. Literally anything else. :)

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In my not-entirely-serious post, I did allude to the things about Tree of Life that bothered me, basically as a counterpoint to the mostly glowing or cautiously neutral feedback.... but I'm curious what about the film inspired others? Everyone watches film differently, and I'm the first to admit that I've learned quite a bit about my craft from some awful films...- some brilliant cinematography goes unnoticed in some of those awful films. But that doesn't mean I have to enjoy the film itself, find it entertaining or think it's a well told story. Were there some great moments of photography in Tree of Life? Absolutely. Was it a well told story? In my opinion, absolutely not. Was it entertaining or thought provoking (what most film in theatrical distribution is meant to be)? In my opinion, no.

 

I may be small-minded but the beautiful thing about this particular forum is that we're all entitled to our own opinions, and in discussion we can, perhaps, broaden our minds a bit. Here at least we can only hide behind our real names. My opinion may be wrong, who knows! But I think the act of dismissing my points wholesale is very small-minded itself. I did preface my post with "I thought" - to denote my comments as opinions of mine. Discussion is good and productive and if you disagree with my points - lack of story, actual character development, forced CG, being propped-up by the director's notoriety, not knowing when to properly end - please say so and add to the discussion. If you find Malick to be a genius, I'm genuinely interested to know why, that maybe I can find some perspective by which to review his older films and perhaps glean some new knowledge or at least respect. It may be shocking how many small-minded people are truly open to learning new things, as opposed to those willing to dismiss any and all disagreement with their own opinion. Crazy right? It's a lot easier to assume I'm evil because as of this moment, I don't love Terrence Malick or the Tree of Life. But that can change.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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First of all, the cinematography is fantastic! Just what I expected. The acting is also fantastic, as I had expected. I had no idea what to expect with the rest of the film and I ended up having very mixed reactions. I thought parts of this film were absolutely brilliant. Genius. And other parts not so much. And I can understand why some people disliked it. When I think of an "art" film, this is the kind of film I'm thinking of. It makes you think. Really think. It makes some people angry. It makes some people bored. It makes some people sad. It makes some people cry. I went through a lot of those emotions throughout the film. Did I "get" it? I don't know. Maybe. But I think that's the point. It's a piece of art that will mean different things to different people. It's not a typical movie that steers your emotions the whole way and gives you a definitive resolution at the end. It dares to just be what it is, and that's part of what I like about it. I may not love, or even like, every second of it, but I LOVE the idea that it was made without compromise and without caring whether people will like it or not. That's true of only very few films.

I think we'll see quite a few Oscar nominations for this. I'm not quite sure how it could get a best director nomination, but I'm not quite sure how it couldn't either. Does that make any sense?

I'm glad I saw it and I'm not surprised to see and hear how differently so many people feel about it. To me, one mark of a good film is that people disagree about whether or not it's good and argue about it.

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Oh for flips sake Vincent calm down will ya ...

 

SNORE

 

Somehow we managed to once again step on your highfalutin toes ?

 

tongue.gif

 

We? Looks like you are trying to start something there Chris. Why do you need so much attention?

 

I'll gladly continue this offline. You can send me a msg. anytime you feel the need.

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  • 3 months later...

I thought it was incredibly visceral, like a visual feast for the eyes. I think Malick's unique in the fact that he solely picks shots or scenes based on their visual merit, which is not always the best for storytelling and performance. Most directors would steer towards the latter, but I personally prefer to watch a visual feast.

 

Very well made movie though.

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We? Looks like you are trying to start something there Chris. Why do you need so much attention?

 

I'll gladly continue this offline. You can send me a msg. anytime you feel the need.

 

oop, didn't see your reply until just now.

 

Yes - 'we' - I was referring to Jaron and myself, and although I don't have the links and am not bothered to look them up I'm pretty sure there are examples of you getting your nose bent out of shape by others.

 

not interested in offline messages for the time being

 

and yes, on occasion I seek attention - many film makers or people in the industry otherwise are the same in this regard.

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Great screening and Q&A, although too short. I was expecting a little better projection at that theater however. The more static FX shots always give away the projector wobbling, which they had plenty of. The print was a brand new one.

 

He confirmed their next film will be mostly 35mm too, although he was excited to be able to use a digital cam for some night/dark scenes they are planning as well. He also mentioned the new one he just finished with Alfonso Cuaron called Gravity. Apparently there are some very long takes coming. It's his first digital film (Alexa)

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