The Tree of Life: Beautiful, Powerful, Life-Affirming

There are films that are meant to showcase writing. Some are to showcase a performance. Others the talent of a director.

The Tree of Life is undoubtedly a film that is solely Terrence Malicks. Sure, it has some very good performances, but the highlight of the film is going to be the vision of Malick.

And boy, what a vision it is: the film feels more like a dream and a nightmare, a stream of consciousness than an actual story. It feels like numerous memories, emotions and traumas wrapped together in what could be best described as a person’s struggle to piece together their internal strife.

Emmanuel Lubezki and his cinematography is mesmerizing. The feel of the film is realized thanks to Lubezki: the way the camera always feels off-center yet moves gracefully through the scenes of the film makes it feel like you’re in the hazy mind of someone’s deepest memories.

In fact, his cinematography is the most important piece of the film, since becomes the connective tissue that creates the story from these pieces of scenes.

The Tree of Life plays more like a artistic film essay at times, much like films like Samsara and Koyaanisqatsi, but it’s the cinematography that creates this feel, mood or vibe that gives the scenes a very distinct purpose.

The film is also powerfully moving due to the unorthodox nature of the film.

The Tree of Life uses the storytelling method it employs in an inventive way by severing the details that make you attached to a character.

This would normally be bad: why exactly would you get emotional about a character that you know little about except for small tidbits?

But in this film, it works to its favor. The family, The O’Brien’s, are non-descript enough to make it feel like a family you know. Thus, the film makes it easy to insert your memories and thoughts into the story that’s being told, creating an impactful feeling entirely your own.

To me, the film is about memories, trauma and the struggle for someone to forgive themselves for their mistakes and thus forgiving those whose mistakes affected them.

That said, it’s easy to see why this is a love it/hate it type of film for some. A large majority of the film doesn’t have much dialogue. In fact, the first 40 or so minutes doesn’t even have much of a plot. And when some kind of story happens, it’s largely superfluous.

Also, a lot of the movie seems to rely on mood and feel, creating a sense of place than a cohesive plot in some spots.

But man, did this film really work for me. Beautiful in both visuals and feel, The Tree of Life is an artistic directing achievement. It takes a visionary like Malick to have the gall to actually create a film like this and it’s an exciting experience to sit through.

That said, if you aren’t vibing with this 30 minutes in, you might as well turn it off. But if you do, you are in for an incredible experience.

The Wiz HIGHLY RECOMMENDS The Tree of Life