The Tree of Life

Started by modage, January 28, 2009, 06:54:07 PM

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modage

Quote from: Pozer on May 22, 2011, 01:51:57 PM
:shock:  :doh: :bravo:

and modge just threw his movie (for the most part seems like it's) not even very good / (probably) "kinda sucked"/ weird logic scale out his modern age window.

Definitely did not see this coming. (And I'm not sure that I trust the Cannes jury) but we'll see tomorrow how it goes...
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

wilder

Quote from: MacGuffin on May 22, 2011, 02:30:15 PM
"Even if a dog is funny he'll say, 'That dog is like a clown' and just start laughing so hard the camera will shake."

:rofl:

Gold Trumpet

Yea, one can't take the Palme d'Or victory too serious. Many previous winners that this board/people have ignored after their victory. The Dardennes are my favorite filmmakers going right now and darlings of Cannes in ways that no filmmaker has been before and I still don't trust the festival.

squints

"The myth by no means finds its adequate objectification in the spoken word. The structure of the scenes and the visible imagery reveal a deeper wisdom than the poet himself is able to put into words and concepts" – Friedrich Nietzsche

Mr. Merrill Lehrl

This is the international jury as listed at Wikipedia:

Quote* Robert De Niro, American actor (President)
    * Jude Law, English actor
    * Uma Thurman, American actress
    * Martina Gusmán, Argentine actress and producer
    * Nansun Shi, Hong Kong producer
    * Linn Ullmann, Norwegian critic and writer
    * Olivier Assayas, French director
    * Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Chadian director
    * Johnnie To, Hong Kong director and producer

Am I right to say that these nine people are the only ones who decide on the Palme d'Or winner?
"If I had to hold up the most heavily fortified bank in America," Bolaño says, "I'd take a gang of poets. The attempt would probably end in disaster, but it would be beautiful."

matt35mm

That's my impression. I know that they have deliberation periods and can't talk to anybody about any of the movies, which nobody else has to deal with. And there are occasionally movies that win "unanimously," which really only seems possible with a small jury.

I have no idea what power the president has that the others don't.

Gold Trumpet

Quote from: matt35mm on May 23, 2011, 04:27:34 PM
I have no idea what power the president has that the others don't.

Just consider the President the spokesperson. When Tarantino headed up a Cannes Jury, he wanted Old Boy to win Palme d'Or but he had to bow to the pressure of members who wanted to honor Fahrenheit 9/11. And since these juries are always actor/director heavy and they love their peers, they also love to spread the awards around.

Mr. Merrill Lehrl

Modage I for one am waiting to hear about your experience (which I hope you write about more than what your expectations were, what the critical response has been, little chunks of Malick biographical information and context, etc. things gleaned from having read about the movie so much before seeing it).  Fire away!
"If I had to hold up the most heavily fortified bank in America," Bolaño says, "I'd take a gang of poets. The attempt would probably end in disaster, but it would be beautiful."

modage

Good news: I'm sure anyone who tries hard enough will find a way to love it.  :yabbse-grin:
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Mr. Merrill Lehrl

Pretty much what I expected.  Thank you, sir.
"If I had to hold up the most heavily fortified bank in America," Bolaño says, "I'd take a gang of poets. The attempt would probably end in disaster, but it would be beautiful."

modage

I thought about a lot of things during "Tree of Life." Because there is so much to look at but so little to draw you in narratively your mind is free to wander for the first hour or so of the film. It takes about that long for writer/director Terrence Malick to actually give you a scene where dialogue is spoken onscreen that starts at A and ends at B. The hour previous is filled with endless snapshots of life, starting with the O'Brien family (Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain & sons) growing up in 1950s Texas. All words here are spoken with a whisper, overtop of the film as it skips from one scene to the next you keep waiting for it to touch down long enough to give you a chance to hold onto something. But instead of landing there the film skips back to the creation of the universe.

On first viewing, "Tree of Life" is a frustrating experience as you wrestle with your own disappointment. For all the breathtaking shots included in the film, how many of them actually meant something? So many scenes in the film seem to be included only because they're pretty to look at and not because they have any impact on the story, it's characters or how it might affect the overall narrative. If Malick wants to make a nature documentary, he should go ahead and do it so he can get it out of his system. The film wallows in beautiful images to the detriment of feeling. I wondered what the crew who worked on the film must have thought watching it for the first time, "All that footage we got and this is the the best you could do?"

Because the film is filled with such beautiful imagery and like very few films, manages to capture moments of true beauty, fans of the director will find plenty to like. The films gaps will be filled in by the viewer who wants this to be a great film. For most people though it will be an impossible slog, a shapeless mess with almost nothing tying the two threads together. I find myself somewhere in the middle. During the first act of the film I found myself hopelessly checked out (save a few gorgeous wordless moments that brought up the music) and then the film settles in for a while, maybe 45 minutes or so and shows you it's not so impossible after all. It focuses on the O'Briens, particularly their son Jack who grows angry and resentful at his hard-ass father. For me, this is the section that works best.

Then comes the resolution, puzzlingly reaching for profundity when the elements haven't even begun to cohere. Sean Penn appears in a few minutes of the film as grown Jack, he wakes up, he goes to work and he shows up in the finale. Any insight into his character is completely projected by the audience because his role has been stripped bare. Its hard to hate a film this ambitious (and I don't) but it's frustrating to see so much talent go to waste on a project like this. Having only seen each of Malick's films once (and having liked them in descending order "Badlands" best and this least), I realize it may take another viewing of each to see if there is more to be found. Is it beautiful to look at? Absolutely, it's probably one of the most stunningly shot films I've ever seen. But is it engaging emotionally? Only intermittently. And it's hard to give a pass to a film that's such a passive experience.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Mr. Merrill Lehrl

Glad your response wasn't actually just that single line.  Feared you wouldn't find a personal connection with the movie but was somehow still hoping you would, so bummed that you didn't.
"If I had to hold up the most heavily fortified bank in America," Bolaño says, "I'd take a gang of poets. The attempt would probably end in disaster, but it would be beautiful."

modage

Quote from: Merrill Errol Lehrl on May 24, 2011, 12:18:35 AM
Glad your response wasn't actually just that single line.  Feared you wouldn't find a personal connection with the movie but was somehow still hoping you would, so bummed that you didn't.

My initial thoughts (during the film, particularly the first hour and last fifteen minutes) were much harsher. But afterwards I was talking with someone I respect who had the exact same feelings the first viewing (it was his second) and most of his issues went away on second viewing. He had also really disliked "The New World" on first viewing and had not liked "The Thin Red Line" either until he rewatched them and now thinks they're near-masterpieces. So I thought I prob ought to give his entire filmography a second viewing before coming down too hard. I'll prob have more to say when people start seeing it.

Also: this movie will be poison to most (regular) moviegoers. There will be walkouts.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Pas

Yeah from what you've said and what I've read elsewhere it's pretty clear there will not be any mass enlightenment.

modage

I still think it's likely going to sweep the Xixax Awards next year. I'd be surprised to see many others admit their disappointment, but who knows.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.