Tree of Life Film Review

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Tree of Life Film Review Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, which debuted in 2011, is one of the weirdest, yet more enjoyable films I have seen in a long time. The film concentrates on a family growing up in a rural area of the United States in the 1950’s / 1960’s time period. It is about how a father and mother raise their three boys in contrasting ways. The father, played by Brad Pitt, is very strict with his kids, often scrutinizing them for doing normal things like talking at the dinner table or trying to put the radio on in the car. He is disliked by his children especially the oldest son because he is hypocritical by doing the things he scolds them not to. The mother of the family (played by Jessica Chastain) is loved and adored by her sons. She teaches them to live freely and to enjoy the world around them. The parent’s contrasting views confuse the oldest son and make him resentful of the situation he is currently living in. The film is not so cut and dry as the previous plot summary makes it sees. It is very much open to interpretation and at some points is chaotic and hard to follow. There are a lot of flashbacks, especially at the start of the film. It begins with the parents (who are older) receiving the news that one of their sons has died. It then flashes to an older man, waking up and going to work in an office. The film shows images of him walking in a desert and in rural types of areas like a field. After this, the film cuts to images of the earth forming and its first inhabitants (dinosaurs, bacteria, jellyfish, sharks, etc.), which kind of confuses the viewer on what this film is about. During the majority of the film, flashbacks just interrupt what is being shown and some events are out of order. The way Tree of Life is filmed, captured by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, adds to the film’s uniqueness. The camera is usually up close to the
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