Jul 4, 2015 To the Wonder is one of his best, calling it self-parody is lazy af. It's definitely his most experimental film, taking the style he created with The Tree of Life and pushing it even further, he creates a piece that practically transcends what we know as cinema and gives a whole new type of experience of watching films. From what I've heard, this is going to continue with Knight of Cups, eliminating dialogue to an even greater degree and using his actors as colors as he paints his grand canvas and tells his story through purely visual means. I'm grateful that Malick, even at his age, is still striving to break the boundaries of cinema and creating art that isn't easily defined and digested, while it may not be accepted by the mainstream critics now, I guarantee that people will find a greater appreciation for it some years down the line.
Jul 4, 2015 "using his actors as colors" lmfao To the Wonder doesn't have near the depth or power of Tree of Life. It isn't close.
Jul 4, 2015 As @FilmAndWhisky and @Pinhead said, it's hard to imagine someone liking one film and hating the other, you would at least have some sort of appreciation for both.
Jul 4, 2015 "The approach to shooting the movie is connected to the kind of movie he wants to make — the form and content are fundamentally connected. For example, when we talk about using natural light, it’s not because we don’t want to have a truck with lights, but because what we want to capture can only be captured accidentally as it happens in front of us. So we prepped in a very unconventional way. Even Tree of Life felt very conventional — very Burbank — compared to this movie. Terry didn’t say this, but I felt that he was trying to separate To the Wonder from all the moviemaking that’s still connected to theater — from movies that feel acted, prepared and rehearsed. We were trying to find a more cinematographic approach to filmmaking and a way of using film language that was less connected to theater and literature and other art forms. Terry wants this art form to have its own way of expressing ideas and emotions, and that’s what was very exciting about the movie." - Emmanuel Lubezki on To the Wonder
Jul 4, 2015 I'm also a To the Wonder supporter, though The Tree of Life is definitely my favorite. This piece from Sight and Sound was particularly astute on To the Wonder and some of its criticisms: http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/reviews-recommendations/film-week-wonder However, to get back to The Tree of Life as canon-worthy, it came out on top of a recent Fandor poll of the best films of the half-decade so far (https://www.fandor.com/keyframe/the-best-films-of-the-decade-so-far-2010-2014). It's also number 6 on TSPDT's best films of 21st century (http://www.theyshootpictures.com/21stcentury_films50-1.htm)
Jul 4, 2015 f---, i wish i could make the reviews you guys write. On topic, i love with passion The Tree Of Life, i admit it took me a few attempts but when i got it i was blown away. The Tree of life is the biggest spiritual journey you can get from a film, it is a complete experience that can even get out of depression anyone. In addition to the theme of the film, cinematically speaking is top notch aswell, from the engaging score to the photography. Particulary i feel like a new person after i see it. Very powerful film. On the other hand, i liked To The Wonder but not that much, however, i saw it when i wasnt a big fan of tree of life so i need a rewatch.
Jul 4, 2015 Frankly, I don't think you deserve an opinion if you haven't seen the film.. Your opinions might be the same after you finish it, but I'll respect you more for it. Right now it seems you're biased off ill-conceived preconceptions about what you think the film is.
Jul 4, 2015 I love how offended you guys are that I formed an opinion based on the first half of the film. Nobody has read my thoughts on it and said it changes abruptly past the halfway point and becomes something else. My extrapolation seems pretty accurate. I'll finish it some day but I'm really not looking forward to it. I don't expect to drink the arthouse kool aid on this one.
Jul 4, 2015 You don't see that there is something wrong with forming an opinion without completing the film? Oh, wait, you do. If you recognize that you don't deserve a vote, then you should recognize your opinion doesn't deserve respect. "the whole idea" -- your preconception. As @Twan put so nicely, directors from Tarkovsky to Allen been tackling the same subject for years. Not to mention Greek philosophers, Renaissance painters, and today's scientists. How do you know that it compounds? Perhaps the finale is a distillation of those broken rules into a conceptual and artistic whole. If anything is lazy it's your aversion to a "film tackling the most grandiose topic of all"... cause surely making that film couldn't be a lazy task, could it?
Jul 4, 2015 I'm not asking for respect? I don't care how anybody feels about my opinion. I explained why I never finished it. This is also the second time somebody has taken a quote out of context to make me look foolish. I've really hurt some feelings in this thread.
Jul 4, 2015 The first time I saw the tree of life I had no idea what the film was going to be like (it was my first malick film), and I remember when the first of the "macro" segments started, I sat up in my seat, eyes wide and mouth open for the entire scene. Best theater experience ever.
Jul 4, 2015 lol nobody's feelings are hurt, except for maybe yours. Just forming an argument, bro. Respond or not, you're making yourself look foolish...
Jul 4, 2015 The Tree of Life can't even be taken in on one viewing, let alone half of one, I didn't fully appreciate it until the second or third time and it only grows richer with every watch.
