 "Photo: Fox Searchlight")
Comparable to listening to Sigur Ros or attempting to read Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer, Tree of Life is a spiritual, transcendental experience. Without a plot or steady narrative, Tree of Life, is the human experience: the tension between living by nature or by grace, riddled with questioning.
Being that Terrance Malick (director) only creates films once in a blue moon, he is highly sought after by top shelf actors. Brad Pitt and Sean Penn leapt at the opportunity to transcend regular box office hits and be a part of stirring the viewers' soul. In Tree of Life, Malick accurately captures the tension between grace and nature personified by the mother and father figures in this film.
Saturated with beautiful imagery, Tree of Life is a plethora of metaphors. Malick employs cosmic images and a soundscape of parallel proportions to stimulate the senses. He intentionally uses ambient voice-overs and unorthodox cinematography to convey the complexities of human emotion. The cinematography alone speaks volumes in moments of deafening silence.
As the credits roll, viewers (ourselves included) are left paralyzed. Sure, a Rom-Com can be a good tear-jerker, but never had we left a movie feeling an affinity with our fellow man. Feeling that eternal tug from God in the midst of our day-to-day chaos and musings, Malick hits the nail on the head.
Left to the vastness of the human experience and the ramblings of our minds, Tree of Life is a great opportunity to tune out the world, and tune into the inner self.
Whether you're bored, confused, or deeply moved, you will not leave this movie unaffected.
The film will be shown in Parmer Cinema on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $1 for students and can be purchased at the door.
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