On to serious matters...Tree of Life is the new film by Terrence Malick. Though the film will not be released until May, the trailer is now playing before Black Swan. Even if I had no interest in Black Swan, I'd pay the price of admission just to get a glimpse at this trailer.
I watched Malick's The New World again last night. This film never ceases to amaze me no matter how many times I've seen it. Writing about it now I find myself having the same difficulty that I have whenever I explain it to anyone. Malick is so deliberate and the film is so transcendental that a synopsis or explanation cannot really encompass anything. The New World needs to be seen and felt. Sure there are a lot of things you can unpack in it - innocence and it's loss, love, beauty, the nature of man, greed - but it is so much more fun to watch the movie for the stolen glances and touches, the masterful cinematography and the meditative emotional impact. What Malick gets out of the actors is truly wonderful as well. Without Capt. Smith's sad eyes, Rebecca's innocence and free-spirit and Rolfe's good-natured kindness, the movie would not work nearly as well.
Malick's style is in a category all it's own. I am so happy that films like this can still get made. I realize that I am putting a lot of hope and expectation on The Tree of Life, but I really think that Malick will deliver.
Brandon, Malick is the perfect example of a case where we have very little access to him in any form other than his art. I would love to see some interviews with him but he remains elusive. Whether or not this is a good thing probably depends on the artist and what they have to say/how well they can actually say it. One of my favorite writers, David Foster Wallace, mentioned during an interview how he hates it when writers become a spectacle. As someone who did not really enjoy giving interviews or readings, he felt that a lot of times people came to see him read just to see the guy behind the book, which actually diluted the work itself.
Since I can't find where he said that right now, here is him on Charlie Rose talking about Unforgiven. Jason's friend Adrienne doesn't do much to get rid of his point about women and that film.
If you want to hear DFW talk about David Lynch and some other films, watch parts 1 and 3 of the interview (above vid starts 3 minutes into part 2).
I found a copy of the extended cut of The New World for $3.99 at Coconuts last night. I already own a copy but picked it up for a friend who had a birthday today. He teaches some cinema classes (mostly Chinese) at BU. Hopefully this will turn him on to Malick as it did for me. He has given me some great movie recommendations over the years; so, it was my turn to return the favor.
John, one of the movies he gave me to watch last summer was Crumb. I know you didn't like the Ellison documentary. I think Crumb succeeds in the places you found that one lacking. The Crumb family is so weird and interesting that the doc doesn't need to do anything but film them.
Alright, I'm off to watch Jules et Jim.
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