Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life (2011)

douki

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The Tree of Life (2010) - IMDb

Tree of Life - Wikipedia

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I've been following this for ages now so thought I'd start a thread. I like all of Malick's films especially Badlands. This should hopefully be out next year.

Here's an early synopsis...

We trace the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, Jack, one of three brothers. At first all seems marvelous to the child. He sees as his mother does, with the eyes of his soul. She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world's way, of putting oneself first. Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death. The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth.

Framing this story is that of adult Jack, a lost soul in a modern world, seeking to discover amid the changing scenes of time that which does not change: the eternal scheme of which we are a part. When he sees all that has gone into our world's preparation, each thing appears a miracle — precious, incomparable. Jack, with his new understanding, is able to forgive his father and take his first steps on the path of life.

The story ends in hope, acknowledging the beauty and joy in all things, in the everyday and above all in the family -- our first school -- the only place that most of us learn the truth about the world and ourselves, or discover life's single most important lesson, of unselfish love.

OR this shorter version...

The story of a family who must come to terms with a devastating loss. In doing so, they discover life's most important lessons of unselfish love and forgiveness.

A review of an early draft of the script here (read lightly ofcourse)

Behind-the-scenes production still of Jessica Chastain...

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Sean Penn on set...

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Composer Alexandre Desplat: It's a deep story about love, how you transmit love, through your family; from the parents to the children. And the evolution of mankind... since the creation. Heavy things, but with everyday life things. That's one of the great ideas that Terrence has been working on. We see a family in the '50s in Texas in their everyday lives, but there's more, of course, connections to the big picture.

Brad Pitt: It's this little tiny story of a kid growing up in the '50s with a mother who's grace incarnate and a father who's oppressive in nature. So he is negotiating his way through it, defining who he's gonna be when he grows up. And that is juxtaposed with a little, tiny micro-story of the cosmos, from the beginning of the cosmos to the death of the cosmos. So that's where the sci-fi – or the sci-fact – comes in.

There's also supposed to be a thematically linked IMAX film apparently called 'Voyage of Time' which is some sort of documentary type film that Malick has been working on in parallel and traces "the birth and death of the universe".

Sounds thoughtful, ambitious. It's been rated PG-13 by the MPAA so sounds like it's finished and Malick has already started shooting his next film so this just needs to be released now please. I'll keep you updated :)
 
Poster:

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US release date is 27th May 2011
 
Trailer is playing in front of Black Swan in the US so should hit online soon. Couple of new stills below...

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Bootleg

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HD Trailer #1
480, 720, 1080



Switch video to 480p for quicker download if necessary

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The image of that little foot in his hands is very striking. I think the trailer is great.
 
Looks interesting. First time hearing about this film. Brad is quite a good actor.
 
You can be in no doubt that's a Malick film from the trailer - and I'm a sucka for his ethereal style filming. Looking forward to it.
 
You can be in no doubt that's a Malick film from the trailer - and I'm a sucka for his ethereal style filming. Looking forward to it.

Looking forward to it even more, having seen the trailer.
 
Here's the new poster:

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According to Empire, the film will be released in the UK on May 4th
 
Looking forward to this one. Although it looks like one my Odeon won't be showing to be honest so I may have to wait for the blu-ray release :thumbsdow. Hopefully I'm proved wrong.
 
Is this still due May 4th here in the UK? I remember reading there was some legal wrangle over them releasing it before the Cannes premier or something.
 
Is this still due May 4th here in the UK? I remember reading there was some legal wrangle over them releasing it before the Cannes premier or something.

Not sure. It originated from Empire and they've since updated to say they've double-checked and that it's definately correct. However, according to this article the UK distributor Icon does not have the rights to the film.
 
Oh well back to thinking its probably going to get an October release date or something ridiculous over here.
 
Looks like precisely my cup of tea, hope it is as good in reality as it is in my head!
 
The film has just screened at Cannes and here is an early review from The Playlist. Sounds like they're a bit disapointed with it and don't like religious themes. I guess there was too much hype for this film to live up to.

Cannes Review: ‘The Tree Of Life’ Is Terrence Malick’s Universe-Spanning Search For God > The Playlist

also taken from this article in LA Times,

Pitt, who by far fielded the most questions, struck a candid pose on a number of subjects, including religion. "I got my issues, man. You don't want to get me me started," he responded, only half-joking, to one questioner. He went on to say that although he understood that some found comfort in it, "I myself found it stifling."

Cannes 2011: Brad Pitt and the 'Tree of Life' gang explain Terrence Malick's process, defend his absence | 24 Frames | Los Angeles Times

Those quotes could be taken out of context I suppose.
 
Apparently, Terrence Malick's last movie was The New World (2005) starring Colin Farrell, that didn't seem to get the same notoriety as his latest, the Greatest American Director presumably didn't have a very big PR budget for the last one.
 
I unreservedly love Malick's first three films (I'd count Days of Heaven among my top ten favourite films) and fitfully enjoyed The New World the first time I saw it, but recently I tried to watch the extended version of that film on Blu-ray and I found it interminable. Hopefully it wasn't the start of a downward spiral.
 
I unreservedly love Malick's first three films (I'd count Days of Heaven among my top ten favourite films) and fitfully enjoyed The New World the first time I saw it, but recently I tried to watch the extended version of that film on Blu-ray and I found it interminable. Hopefully it wasn't the start of a downward spiral.

Not too sure if many would agree but I actually preferred 'The Thin Red Line' over 'Saving Private Ryan' when they both came out at the cinema around the same time. Just something about Malick's portrayal of the 2nd WW confrontations in east Asia that gripped me more than SPR. Soundtrack was top notch too.... :smashin:
 
Not too sure if many would agree but I actually preferred 'The Thin Red Line' over 'Saving Private Ryan' when they both came out at the cinema around the same time. Just something about Malick's portrayal of the 2nd WW confrontations in east Asia that gripped me more than SPR. Soundtrack was top notch too.... :smashin:

Well, I agree with you. I don't even like Private Ryan very much and think that apart from the famous opening sequence it's a rather unremarkable war film, but then I'm not a big fan of Spilebergs "serious" films.
 

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