a Cloud Maker

The Tree of Life - 2011 by Terrence Malick As tradition has overtime, set in stone the shapes and transitions of films worldwide the debut of a a picture such as "The Tree of Life", means more than a broadcasting of mere experimentation [as opposing to what regular so called experimental films mean] for it offers, cinematographically speaking, an alternative route, and that said with no use of demagogy, to the best 'cinema' can offer. Malick´s tempo is at times, a puzzling feature, demanding a certain degree of familiarity that is not at first enjoyed by most of its spectators, for without a measure of analysis and complacency the unusul cuts and ballet like sequence of images would assuredly be an impediment to a casual viewer. But however dense the visual and sensorial aspects of "The Tree of Life" may appear it is far less pretentious than its discourse. It displays itself as an ultimate tribute to life on this planet, transcending the boundaries of civilizations and eras, being in its own way a cinematographic cross adaptation of Charles Darwin's "Origins of the Species" and the 4 Christian Gospels adapted to a 1950´s version of the United States. A task performed quite outstandingly we may add, but that by its own nature, was like trying to swallow a whole chicken in only one bite. However, Malick´s Iliad prevailed, due to its impressive virtues, best summed by Jessica Chastain (who so beutifuly Played Mrs. O´Brien in the film) in a recent interview: [The film] "Is more of an experience, It´s like a visual poem, is like a philosophy lesson." and indeed it is, at times. It´s by that light, by an aura of lyricism and sensibility, that the whole picture revolves, and [for the most part] progresses towards an even more intense experience, towards an even more poem like audiovisual display, towards a firmer consciousness of self and collectiveness. And so it was, in sum: 'too good to be true'. The Truth in "The Tree of Life", the Honest and Pure in its whole is drawn from the interactions of a family with the matters of life. We see generations Struggling with what Life is, as if a full picture of it could never be painted, as if it were always unveiling itself more widely and more intensely that we are led to infer that it can never be fully grasped. That it´s continual, independent of time, independent of species. So much so that Grace, embodied by Chastain´s Character, is introduced almost as an attitude of reverence and self awareness towards life itself. Brad Pitt´s Character is just the opposite, He´s the one who´s lost the meaning and connection with the sacredness of existence. But the best features of the fore mentioned interactions was its take on childhood, and the parents-children relationship, the collision of two worlds. For the picture gets so powerfully immersing as the time of the kid to protagonize his version of 'what life is' comes, that by then we are taken back into his feelings and anxieties as equals, as brothers. This acknowledgement is in deed the greatest vein of this narrative, the children seam to have been simply parachuted into existence and are now having the toughest time trying to absorb sense out of life and understand why adults are so not like themselves. Is in this sense, that Life is depicted as a cycle, of beauty and Transformation, illustrated by most of its footage, and solidified by Brad Pitt´s character. It´s important to note that it is not by accident that the 1950´s of the narrative, is depicted as the ideal standard time of humanity. It´s a personal reference, since Malick himself was at the best years of his childhood years then. In sum Malick depicts the sensations of a life time, in his 2 hour film at the best cinema is able to do it. And for that alone, this film deserves the best of acknowledgements. However it fails, miserably in attempting to synthesize all insinuations and sensorial associations so carefully crafted, into what turned out to be a really poor metaphor. as if an art work depended on a moral to conclude itself. So What was in deed a beautiful (and in spite of all pretensions), naive in the best sense of the word, revealed itself to be a list of great isolated elements in a mediocre recipe. As if Playing God wasn´t enough... So "The Tree of Life", is overall a majestic art piece of such density and depth but that betrays in a rude form it´s own intellect and pretensions. Only 'hanged together' by that which it ultimately denies; spontaneity and the Rapture of emotional connections, precisely the aspects of existence that reason could never fairly describe, nor contain in its logics.