The Tree of Life – Cannes 2011
Through costly dinosaur compassion, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life holds no subtleties. The film’s substance could change a generation. The film feels like a realization, an emotional ride of creation told through the eyes of a single character. Even the energy in the theater seemed odd, the audience almost off put by this massive concept being whittled down before our very eyes. From the visual effects of this poetic creation of the universe to the emotional realism that Brad Pitt masters in his classic 50’s family Texan attire and demeanor. I wasn’t sure if this Cannes audience and myself were going to be ready for this poetic piece of visual majesty. The film could hold no comparison immediately except for that classic Terrence Malick voice over, which felt very reminiscent of The Thin Red Line. Sean Penn brings a calm narration through the film, and gives the audience an interesting understanding of this experience. Penn’s peaceful voiceover, spoken freely without cause or reason it would seem, only fuels this overwhelming sense of perfection and beauty within the first twenty minutes of the film.
The second act became something I had never witnessed before. The closest I can to describe the visual artistry in The Tree of Life is that from the late Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. I believe like Kubrick, Malick’s film will not be at first appreciated; the idea is ambitious and not a linear story to tell. In that regards, The Tree of Life is not a traditional style of storytelling. It is something that has evolved, the evolution of film. The Tree of Life turned the theatre into a cathedral a place of worship, a praise of beauty and the simplistic nature of life and our identities in that realm.
Malick doesn’t rely on spoken words with unnecessary dialogue; the visual orchestra is what steals the show with Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography. The Tree of Life is easily eye candy for anyone with a passion for a gorgeous picture and a poetic ear. And with the flawless performances, you can quickly see that there is nothing else like The Tree of Life in Cannes 2011 line up. To be quiet honest, I felt honored to have witnessed first hand such an obvious masterpiece of truth and ambition.