Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience

 

***The Following is a Review on the 45-minute IMAX version as the 90-minute theatrical version with narration by Cate Blanchett remains unreleased publicly in the U.S. as of 2021***

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, Voyage of Time is an experimental documentary film that celebrates the universe in its creation and its evolution. Based on a project Malick had been developed in the late 1970s, the film is a story about how planet Earth has been created as well as the creation of the cosmos. The film is told in two different versions as the 90 minute version is narrated by Cate Blanchett while the 45-minute IMAX version is narrated by Brad Pitt. The result is a ravishing and enchanting film from Terrence Malick.

The film opens with a poem as it relates to questions about existence and how the Earth is created as the film is about Earth, its creation, and its evolution. While it is a film that doesn’t have much of a plot nor a straightforward narrative. It is a film that does manage to tell the story about how the universe is created as well as how Earth is created along with the wonders of the world along with a recurring image of a young girl walking into a field of grass. The film does showcase the ideas of how Earth is created and the evolution of the world with shots of volcanos emerging, the formation of animals in the sea, dinosaurs, and all sorts of things. Terrence Malick’s direction often feature gazing images of nature or a certain location that play into Earth’s evolution and the evolution of humanity.

With the aid of cinematographer Paul Atkins, Malick would capture many of the natural elements of these locations as well as some of the sea animals such as jellyfishes while some of the creation sequences were created by visual effects supervisor Dan Glass with consultant work from Douglas Trumbull. Notably in the look of some of the prehistoric animals, dinosaurs, and such as it has this air of beauty along with scenes in space where Trumbull’s methods help play into the creation of the universe. Editors Rehman Ali and Keith Fraase would provide excellent usage of jump-cuts and montages as it help play into the frenetic evolution that would include shots of land turning into cities including an aerial shot of the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai. Sound designers Joel Dougherty and Hamilton Sterling does some incredible work in the mixing of natural sounds as well as to showcase the ferocity of those sounds such as the geysers and volcanos in their eruption as well as a shot of a meteor coming down.

The film’s music by Simon Franglen and Hanan Townshend is amazing with its usage of bombastic string-based pieces with some classical and operatic pieces that add to visual splendor of the film. Especially in some of the creation sequences as it adds a lot of the emotional weight in what the music brings.

Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience is a phenomenal documentary short film from Terrence Malick. It is a short film that has to be seen as it explore the ideas of existentialism as well as the creation of the universe. It is also a short that does more than just be a nature film but rather a poetic ode to the ideas of creation. In the end, Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience is a sensational film from Terrence Malick.

Terrence Malick Films: Badlands - Days of Heaven - The Thin Red Line - The New World - The Tree of Life - To the Wonder - Knight of Cups - (Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey) - Song to Song - A Hidden Life - (The Way of the Wind)

© thevoid99 2022

A Hidden Life

 

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, A Hidden Life is the story about Franz Jagerstatter who is an Austrian farmer and devout Catholic who refused to fight for the Nazis during World War II as he would later be beatified by the Catholic Church. A historical drama that is based on diaries and notes on Jagerstatter’s life that includes his time with wife Franziska, the film is a look into a man whose silence and questions about humanity makes him a target for those who are appalled by his actions as Jagerstatter is portrayed by August Diehl and his wife Franziska aka Fani is played by Valerie Pachner. Also starring Mathias Schoenaerts, Jurgen Prochnow, Maria Simon, and the final film appearances of Bruno Ganz and Michael Nyqvist. A Hidden Life is an intoxicating and ravishing film from Terrence Malick.

Set largely in the small mountainside village of St. Radegund, Austria from 1939 to August of 1943, the film revolves around the life of Franz Jagerstatter as a farmer who tends his family land with wife Fani as well as their three young daughters, his mother, father-in-law, and sister-in-law Resie (Maria Simon) as World War II begins as he refuses to fight for Nazi Germany due to his principles and questions into why should anyone kill another person? It’s a film with a simple premise as it play into a man with strong beliefs as he copes with what he’s being asked as he would also be aware of the horrors of war just as his village is being swept up by the ideology of nationalism. The film’s screenplay by Terrence Malick is a largely straightforward affair as he returns to a traditional three-act narrative following a period of loosely-based films with no scripts. Notably as much of the script is based on corresponding letters, notes, and diaries from Jagerstatter and his wife where Malick maintains this narrative of a man holding on to his faith and his devotion to God during a tumultuous time that is World War II.

A common trait in Malick’s work is in the voice-over narrations as the film is told through both Franz and Fani with the first act being about their life together at St. Radegund as farmers raising three young daughters with Franz briefly leaving to do basic training until France’s surrender to Germany where he is sent home. Yet, his return home to his farm life is brief as the war rages on where able-bodied Austrians have to swear an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich as it’s something Franz just couldn’t do. Even during his time in basic training, he saw images that haunt him as he goes to his local priest in Ferdinand Furthauer (Tobias Moretti) for guidance as the priest does give Franz a chance to speak with Bishop Joseph Fleisser (Michael Nyqvist) for advice but doesn’t get anything that will help him. The film’s second act play into Franz trying to decide on what to do as he and his family become ostracized over his beliefs as he would go to prison and await his fate with Fani dealing with the verbal abuse of many locals despite the help of a few.

Malick’s direction is definitely rapturous in not just in his overall presentation but also in maintaining something spiritual in the world he’s in. Shot on various locations in northern Italy near the Alps with some parts shot at the Studio Babelsberg at Postdam, Germany and the meeting with Bishop at Brixen, Austria. The locations for St. Radegund is a character in the film where Malick’s usage of wide and medium shots of its mountain ranges, skies, trees, grass, and wheat fields really play into this idyllic world that is simple and almost disconnected from the world of the cities as if they’re not distracted by its chaos. Shot on various styles ranging from these gliding tracking shots on Steadicams or in these hand-held camera shots with wide lenses that gets a lot of coverage of the rooms or locations these characters are in. Malick does play into a world where everyone knows everyone and treat each other with kindness and decency but then news about World War II and Austria being swept up by German nationalism of the Nazis where everything changes.

The constant imagery of nature does play into the tone of the story where the usage of dark rain clouds and dark colors do emphasize what is to come and how dark the world becomes with Franz and Fani both becoming ostracized for their beliefs. Malick does maintain that intimacy in the direction as it relates to the love between Franz and Fani through medium shots and close-ups as well as through their corresponding letters in the film’s second and third acts. Notably with Franz going to different prisons in Enns and later Berlin where he would meet his fate on August of 1943 as there are individuals, including a judge, (Bruno Ganz) at Franz’s trial who understands what he’s doing yet are aware of the consequences he is facing. Malick also would infuse stock footage that include rare home movies from Adolf Hitler and images of trains as it play into some of the narration about the dilemma that Franz is dealing as well as some of the abuse that Fani would go through.

Malick also showcase some of these fanatical moments of nationalism that definitely echo a lot of what had been happening in the U.S. in the late 2010s as it is clear that there is some political subtext that Malick has brought yet he chooses to state his views in a subtle and silent manner. Even with Franz being someone who is just asking simple questions that local leaders to those up in the higher echelons of the government at the time refuse to answer. Yet, Malick does something remarkable towards the end of the film that does have a near-three hour running time for a story that is simple as it says a lot about those who aren’t willing to ostracize nor take sides of anything by just being decent. Even as something as simple as faith being the one thing that allows a person to be grounded and ask these questions during a dark time of inhumane events happening as this one man stands up for his beliefs as well as be human in these horrific times. Overall, Malick crafts a touching and evocative film about an Austrian farmer who refuses to pledge his allegiance to Nazi Germany during World War II through an act of silent defiance.

Cinematographer Jorg Widmer does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on natural lighting as it helps capture the lush colors of green trees and forests as well as many of the natural surroundings with some low-key artificial lighting for some of the interiors as it is a highlight of the film. Editors Rehman Nizar Ali, Joe Gleason, and Sebastien Jones do brilliant work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts to play into some of the emotional elements of the film as well as some rhythmic cuts to play into the conversations. Production designer Sebastian T. Krawinkel, with set decorator Yesim Zolan plus art directors Steve Summersgill and Bryce Tibbey, does brilliant work with the look of the farm as well as some of interiors of the town as well as the prison interiors. Costume designer Lisy Christl does fantastic work with the costumes from the blue dress that Fani wears when she meets Franz for the first time as well as a lot of casual look of the people at St. Radegund and the Nazi uniforms of the times.

Hair/makeup designer Waldemar Pokromski does terrific work with the look of the characters in the hairstyle of the times as well as the facial hair in some of the male characters in the film. Visual effects supervisor Antoine Durr does nice work with the visual effects as it is largely bits of set dressing in some of the locations. Sound editor Brad Engleking does excellent work with the sound in not just capturing a lot of the natural elements of the sound such as the sharpening of the scythe as well as the locations and in the voice-over narrations. The film’s music by James Newton Howard is marvelous for its somber yet broad orchestral music score that adds to the drama while music supervisor Lauren Mikus helps provide a soundtrack that feature several classical music pieces Georg Fredric Handel, Avro Part, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Antonin Dvorak.

The casting by Anja Dihrberg is superb as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from trio of Ida Mutschlechner, Maria Weger, and Aennie Lade as Franz and Fani’s daughters, Amber Shave and Barabara Stampfl as younger versions of the two elder daughters, Karl Markovics as the mayor of St. Radegund, Johan Leysen as a church painter, Johannes Kirsch as a miller who is one of the few that treats Fani with kindness despite the behavior of the community, Franz Rogowski as a crazed local who lives in the woods, Mark Waschke as a kind blacksmith, Maria Stadler as an old widow that Fani helps out who later helps her in return, Alexander Fehling as Franz’s trial lawyer, Sophie Rois as Fani's aunt, Jurgen Prochnow as a military officer, Maria Simon as Fani’s sister Resie, and Karin Neuhauser as Franz’s mother who would resent Fani over her Franz’s decisions only to see the cruelty of her townspeople. Ulrich Matthes and Tobias Moretti are excellent in their respective roles as Fani’s father and the local priest Father Furthauer who are both supportive of Franz and Fani. Matthias Schoenaerts is fantastic in his small role as an Austrian official who tries to help Franz and to not get him in trouble while Michael Nyqvist in one of his final film roles is brilliant as the Bishop Fleisser who talks with Franz though he doesn’t give any answers possibly to not upset the Nazi regime.

Bruno Ganz is amazing as the trial judge who takes the time to understand what Franz is doing as he is also aware that the man has chosen his fate as it’s a somber performance from Ganz in one of his final film appearances. Finally, there’s the duo of August Diehl and Valerie Pachner in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Franz and Franziska “Fani” Jagerstatter with the former as the farmer who refuses to fight for Nazi Germany based on principle as he also asks questions as he holds on to his faith as Diehl just displays a sense of humility and wonderment of a man standing up for his beliefs. Pachner as the latter has this air of grace in her performance as a farmer’s wife trying to raise her daughters and do all the farming duties as she dealt with the struggle of doing it by herself or with her sister as it’s just a radiant performance as she and Diehl just have this touching chemistry as they’re a major highlight of the film.

A Hidden Life is an outstanding film from Terrence Malick that features great performances from August Diehl and Valerie Pachner. Along with its ensemble cast, radiant cinematography, majestic music soundtrack, themes of faith and beliefs against the ideas of evil, and gorgeous locations. The film is definitely a drama that showcases faith in a positive way as it also play into a kind of act of humanity against something as inhumane as war and fanatical nationalism. In the end, A Hidden Life is a magnificent film from Terrence Malick.

Terrence Malick Films: Badlands - Days of Heaven - The Thin Red Line - The New World - The Tree of Life - To the Wonder - Knight of Cups - Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience - (Voyage of Time: Life's Journey) – Song to Song - (The Way of the Wind)

© thevoid99 2020

Song to Song

 

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, Song to Song is an experimental love story set in Austin, Texas and its respective music scene that involves two songwriters/musicians, a music mogul, and a waitress as they all take part in a strange love affair. The film is an offbeat love story that doesn’t feature a traditional script as it play into people living at the moment through all sorts of entanglements in their love for each other and for the music. Starring Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Natalie Portman, Val Kilmer, Holly Hunter, Berenice Marlohe, Lykke Li, and Cate Blanchett. Song to Song is a rapturous and evocative film from Terrence Malick.

Set mainly in Austin, Texas in its respective music and arts scene, the film revolves around two songwriters/musicians, a music mogul, and a waitress as they all take part in whirlwind of a love affair that would each play into their ambitions and desires. It’s a film that doesn’t have much plot nor does it feature a traditional narrative due to the fact that its writer/director Terrence Malick didn’t write a script and created everything through notes and what he can capture on film. Yet, the film plays more into the themes of these four people who all meet as they fall in love but deal with temptation, doubt, and the search for meaning. Especially as Faye (Rooney Mara) is trying to make it into the music industry as she falls for the slightly-successful BV (Ryan Gosling) as she gets him to meet music mogul/lover Cook (Michael Fassbender). Yet, Faye continues her tumultuous affair with Cook who would marry the waitress Rhonda (Natalie Portman) but things go into strange turns due to Cook wanting to engage more into his decadent lifestyle with Faye and BV both trying to find something.

Malick’s direction definitely plays into the loose nature of the film’s unconventional narrative as it has this sense of freewheeling approach in the way he films everything around him. Shot largely on location near and in Austin, Texas with some shots in Mexico for a scene where BV, Faye, and Cook take a trip to Mexico. The usage of wide and medium shots not only allow Malick to get a look into the surroundings that these characters encounter but also in its connection with the world itself. Even as Malick would have characters also encounter elements of nature as it play into their search for love and identity while also encountering the chaos in the Austin music scene. The camera would often be in the middle of the action whether it’s in a mosh pit or people dancing in a rave. Malick’s close-ups add to the film’s unconventional tone as he always play into these characters and all of the highs and lows they endure as the four principle characters of Faye, BV, Cook, and Rhonda also express their feelings through voice-over narration.

Though the film centers on this music and arts scene in Austin, there are also these spiritual elements in the film though a lot of is subtle as it relates to journeys of these four characters. Notably as Faye is filled with doubt over her relationship with BV who has some issues with Cook over business reasons. Even as she learned that BV has been in a past relationship with Swedish singer Lykke Li and another former flame in Amanda (Cate Blanchett) whom he would briefly reconnect despite the fact that Faye would also continue her tumultuous affair with Cook to the point that he would have her and Rhonda in a brief three-way affair. Cook is this metaphoric figure of temptation and decadence who would often lure Faye into his world to the point that Rhonda feels neglected, lost, and yearning for answers leading her to go to the world of faith. The usage of music plays into this idea of people bringing together yet it is also used for decadence in Cook who continuously tries to find some sort of meaning through drugs and partying.

The film’s third act is about the journeys that these four characters endure where Malick showcases this air of loss through the trappings of temptation and decadence with some trying to find a bigger meaning in their lives with others forced to accept reality as well as cope with some of their poor decisions. Still, there are people who do give them some guidance as a way to cope with loss but also on love as Malick brings that sense of reality and gracefulness to show that as hard as the world can hit someone. It is all about getting hit and taking it to move forward as it play into the story that these four characters endure. While there’s a lot that is happening and can meander at times due to the film’s lack of a conventional narrative, Malick is able to maintain something that is more of a thematic study set against this culture of music and art with the four people at the center of it. Overall, Malick crafts an intoxicating and compelling about four people going through their own desires, doubts, and identity issues in Austin, Texas.

Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as its usage of natural lighting, available light, different film stocks, and digital photography adds to the look of the film with its vibrant colors as it is a major highlight of the film. Editors Rehman Nizar Ali, Hank Corwin, and Keith Fraase do amazing work with the editing with its stylish approach to jump-cuts and rhythmic cuts as it play into the film’s dream-like and gliding tone. Production designer Jack Fisk, with set decorator David Hack and art director Ruth De Jong, does brilliant work with the look of the homes of the characters including the hotel that Cook often parties at or the look of the stages at the South by Southwest music festival.

Costume designer Jacqueline West does excellent work with the costumes with its mixture of casual and stylish clothing including some of the designer clothes that some of the richer characters wear as well as the look of the music performers in the film. Sound designers Joel Dougherty and Will Patterson do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as how music sounds live and on stage as well as the way the voiceover narrations are mixed. Music supervisor Lauren Mikus does fantastic work with the film’s music soundtrack with its mixture of classical, rock, indie, electronic music, and other kinds ranging from classical cuts from Zbigniew Preisner, Gustav Mahler, Camile Saint-Saens, Maurice Ravel, Nicholas Britell, Avro Part, and Claude Debussy along with music from Iggy Pop, Public Image Ltd., the Black Lips, Florence + the Machines, Lykke Li, Patti Smith, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan, Elmore James, Del Shannon, Neon Indian, and many others.

The casting by Francine Maisler and Lauren Grey is wonderful as it feature cameos from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Lydon, Florence Welch, Iggy Pop, Tegan & Sara, Die Antwoord, and the Black Lips as themselves as well as Swedish artist Lykke Li as a fictional version of herself as a former flame of BV and American punk rock legend Patti Smith as a woman who is helping Faye with a lot of advice about art and life. Other notable small roles include Linda Edmond as BV’s mother, Tom Sturridge and Austin Amelio as BV’s younger brothers, Val Kilmer as one of Cook’s clients in a performer named Duane, Dana Falconberry as Faye’s sister, Brady Coleman as Faye’s father, Neely Bingham as BV’s ailing father, and Holly Hunter in a fantastic performance as Rhonda’s mother Miranda who is eager to have a life without trouble but becomes concerned for her daughter’s well-being. Berenice Marlohe is excellent as the French artist Zoey whom Faye meets and has a brief affair with as a woman who would give Faye some attention. Cate Blanchett is brilliant in her small role as Amanda who is a former flame of BV as she rekindles her relationship with him but realizes there’s some cracks in the relationship.

Natalie Portman is incredible as Rhonda as a waitress/former kindergarten teacher who falls for Cook as she is tempted by what he offers but finds herself lost in his decadent lifestyle as she seeks to find something with more meaning. Michael Fassbender is amazing as Cook as a music mogul who is a man that offers a lot and wants to be part of the fun but gets upset whenever he doesn’t get what he wants as he is this charming figure of corruption and temptation. Ryan Gosling is remarkable as BV as a successful musician trying to figure out what to do next as he falls for Faye while dealing with some business and personal issues with Cook as it is a somber performance from Gosling as someone who has seen a lot and is searching for answers. Finally, there's Rooney Mara in a phenomenal performance as Faye as a musician trying to get her break despite her attachment with Cook and her growing feelings for BV as it has this air of radiance and anguish as it is one of Mara’s finest performances to date.

Song to Song is a sensational film from Terrence Malick. Featuring a great ensemble cast, rapturous visuals, a rich music soundtrack, and themes of identity, doubt, and temptation against the backdrop of a vibrant music and arts scene in Austin, Texas. It is a film that explore four people trying to find their way in the world in the music scene as well as endure many ideas despite the film’s unconventional narrative and lack of a strong plot which won’t appeal to a lot of people. In the end, Song to Song is a phenomenal film from Terrence Malick.

Terrence Malick Films: Badlands - Days of Heaven - The Thin Red Line - The New World - The Tree of Life - To the Wonder - Knight of Cups - Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience - (Voyage of Time: Life's Journey) – A Hidden Life – (The Way of the Wind)

© thevoid99 2020

Magnum Force

Directed by Ted Post and screenplay by John Milius and Michael Cimino from a story by Milius with ideas from Terrence Malick, Magnum Force is the second film in the Dirty Harry series that has Harry Callahan dealing with renegade cops who have taken the law into their own hands seeing his own ideas become distorted. The film is an exploration of vigilante justice and its fallacies as Clint Eastwood reprises his role as Dirty Harry Callahan as someone who has his own methods of justice is trying to make sure it’s done for the right reasons. Also starring Hal Holbrook, Robert Ulrich, David Soul, Mitchell Ryan, Felton Perry, and Tim Matheson. Magnum Force is a thrilling yet eerie film from Ted Post.

Following the death of a mob leader after he was acquitted for a crime he did commit, the film revolves around Harry Callahan trying to investigate these murders as he believes that it’s not in the hand of criminals but rather people in the San Francisco Police Department. Notably as they’ve taken on the idea of vigilante justice which makes Callahan uneasy though others believe the murders are in the hands of rival mobsters and such which is something Callahan doesn’t think is true. The film’s screenplay by John Milius and Michael Cimino doesn’t just explore this wave of vigilante justice that is causing trouble but also Callahan’s own reaction to it as some believe that he started it. Callahan doesn’t get involved in the investigation due to having to work another assignment as he takes a closer look at these killings where he finds himself having to spar with his new superior in Lt. Briggs (Hal Holbrook).

With his new partner Earlington “Early” Smith (Felton Perry) helping him, Callahan doesn’t just try to do his job and take down criminals but he is someone that is aware of his limitations. One of the themes in the film is limitations as the line “man’s got to know his limitations” is something Callahan would often say as it would also refer to Lt. Briggs who tries to maintain some control. The script also play into Callahan’s personal life as he does live alone while also helps out the wife of a fellow officer in Charlie McCoy (Mitchell Ryan) who is becoming unhinged through alcoholism. McCoy is initially a suspect since the script reveals that the killer is a traffic cop often riding a motorcycle but Callahan doesn’t think it’s him as he catches the eye of four new traffic cops who would compete with him in a shootout contest.

Ted Post’s direction does have some elements of style as it starts off with a sequence at San Francisco’s City Hall where a trial had just finished where he uses hand-held cameras to get through the crowd and then follow into this sequence of a mobster in his car with his attorney and two associates as they’re stopped by a traffic cop who kills them. Shot on location in San Francisco and areas nearby, Post’s direction would have him use a lot of wide shots for some of the locations but also in scenes that play into the suspense such as an attack on a pool party or a hit from a penthouse with the cops watching from a building across the street. Yet, he favors more intimate shots in close-ups and medium shots while putting in bits of style such as the low-camera angle shots or high angle shots for some scenes as it relates to the investigation.

The close-ups are a big deal for some of the violence such as the first kill and other kills as it help obscure the identity of the killers. The moments of violence are far more intense as it relate to what the killers are doing in comparison to what Callahan does when he has to deal with criminals. The third act isn’t just about the reveal of who are the vigilante cops but also their ideas of justice which doesn’t sit well with Callahan as it reveal what kind of man he is and why he will always do what is right no matter how much he can disagree with the ideas of the law. Overall, Post creates a chilling yet engaging film about a police investigator dealing with the idea of vigilante justice.

Cinematographer Frank Stanley does excellent work with the film’s colorful cinematography with the look of the daytime exterior scenes as well as the usage of low-key lights for some of the interiors in the day and night. Editor Ferris Webster does some nice work with the editing as it is quite straightforward with some rhythmic cuts for some of the suspense. Art director Jack T. Collis and set decorator John Lamphear do fantastic work with the look of the offices of the police as well as the apartment home of Callahan. The sound work of James R. Alexander is terrific for the way gunfire sounds as well as some of the intense action that is presented. The film’s music by Lalo Schifrin is amazing for its jazz-driven score that help play into the suspense as well as some of the film’s action scenes.

The casting by Nessa Hyams is superb as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Suzanne Somers as a topless pool girl killed in a massacre, Adele Yoshioka as a neighbor of Callahan who flirts with him, Richard Devon as a mob leader who is acquitted and then killed early in the film, Tony Giorgio as a mob leader who is suspected for all of the killings, Christine White as McCoy’s wife, Bob McClurg as a cab driver befriending a hooker who is later confronted by her pimp, Margaret Avery as the hooker, Albert Popwell as the pimp, John Mitchum as Callahan’s fellow inspector Frank “Fatso” DiGiorgio who would stakeout one of the mob targets who would be assassinated, and Mitchell Ryan as Callahan’s troubled traffic cop friend Charlie McCoy who is unraveling through his alcoholism as he becomes a suspect because he’s a motorcycle cop.

The quartet that consists of Kip Nevin, Robert Ulrich, Tim Matheson, and David Soul are fantastic as rookie traffic cops that intrigue Callahan as Soul’s character John Davis is the big standout as someone who is very good with a gun. Felton Perry is excellent as Callahan’s new partner Early Smith as a man who is new to the world of homicide as he is also quite resourceful in getting the job done and handle things under pressure as he is one of the few who sticks with Callahan’s views on what is really going on. Hal Holbrook is brilliant as Lt. Neil Briggs as Callahan’s new superior who tries to instill his own ideas of enforcement where he makes Callahan uneasy but is willing to listen to what Callahan is thinking about. Finally, there’s Clint Eastwood in an incredible performance as Harry Callahan as the no-nonsense investigator whose weapon is a .44 Magnum as he is aware of what is happening but also uses his instincts to know something is off as he believes that the killer or killers aren’t hitmen but rather someone in the police force as it’s Eastwood at his best.

Magnum Force is a sensational from Ted Post that features an iconic Clint Eastwood in one of his defining roles. Along with its strong ensemble cast, a gripping screenplay by John Milius and Michael Cimino, and top-notch action. It’s a film that explore the ideas of justice and how it can be distorted for some forcing Dirty Harry to set things right. In the end, Magnum Force is a remarkable film from Ted Post.

Dirty Harry Films: Dirty Harry - The Enforcer – Sudden Impact – The Dead Pool

© thevoid99 2017

Dirty Harry

Directed by Don Siegel and screenplay by Harry Julian Fink, Rita M. Fink, and Riesner from a story by the Finks and Jo Heims, Dirty Harry is the story of a San Francisco cop who tracks down a killer while breaking all of the rules to do so. Based on the real-life Zodiac killings in the late 1960s/early 1970s, the film is an exploration of a man who will do whatever it takes to track down this killer sniper as the character of Dirty Harry Callahan is played by Clint Eastwood. Also starring Andy Robinson, Reni Santoni, Harry Guardino, and John Vernon. Dirty Harry is a gripping and thrilling film from Don Siegel.

A killer sniper is on the loose and demands $200,000 as the San Francisco police try to stop him yet there is one person who is willing to go after him without the need of jurisdiction or what the law says. All Harry Callahan needs is a .44 Magnum pistol and his hunch into capturing this mysterious killer known as Scorpio (Andy Robinson). The film is about a detective trying to catch this killer who has been using the city as his playground where he would hide from certain distances and kill whoever he sees as panic is looming all over the city. The film’s screenplay, which would feature some un-credited contributions from such noted-filmmakers like John Milius and Terrence Malick, starts off with the search for this killer known as Scorpio who would send a message to the city as its mayor (John Vernon) tries to figure out what to do as well as police officials. Lt. Al Bressler (Harry Guardino) would assign Callahan to the case as Callahan reluctantly takes a partner in Chico Gonzalez (Reni Santoni) who is new to the force.

The character of Harry Callahan is kind of a loner who prefers to do things his way despite the fact that there’s rules into dealing with criminals and such. Yet, he is someone who know a thing or two about the criminal operates as well as the fact that things such as trials, juries, and all of these things won’t stop them. His new partner Gonzalez would understand why others call him Dirty Harry since Harry does play dirty as well as the fact that he’s prejudiced and quite cynical but knows what to do when the city is in trouble. Especially as the killer Scorpio is killing everyone as the second act revolves around Callahan and Gonzalez trying to find the killer who has kidnapped a young woman as they race to save her life. Yet, it is followed by this third act in which Harry’s tactics would cause some trouble due to legalities and such as Harry know that it would only cause more trouble forcing him to take the law into his own hands.

Don Siegel’s direction is definitely entrancing for the way the film opens with this massive wide shot of San Francisco seen from a tower as it follows a killer who would look into scope to target a woman swimming on a pool at a rooftop as he then shoots her on her back as she would die. Much of the film is shot on locations in San Francisco and areas nearby including Marin County as well as a scene in Universal Studios in Hollywood where the city of San Francisco is a character in the film where Siegel takes advantage of many of its sites and locations to play into Callahan’s search for Scorpio. While Siegel would use some wide shots to establish some of the locations, he favors more intimate shots in the action and drama as well as some of the moments of suspense. Notably in the medium shots in which Siegel would use for much of his compositions as it relate to multiple characters as well as close-ups for some shots including Callahan’s own idea of chance whenever he confronts a criminal.

The direction has Siegel take on some very intense moments as it relate to the violence as a sequence in which Callahan stops a robbery with just his gun is an indication of what kind of man Callahan is. Especially as he’s someone who doesn’t like to waste time while not afraid to break rules in moments that are very serious and crucial. There is also a moment in the third act that relates to Scorpio in what he would do to get himself out of trouble as it is quite violent yet it shows that this is a man that is very smart in what he needs to do survive. All of which lead to a showdown between him and Callahan as the latter knows that if something needs to be done and done right. You might have to break some rules in order for justice to be served. Overall, Siegel creates an exhilarating and confrontational film about a police inspector who does what it takes to get the job done to stop a killer from wreaking havoc in San Francisco.

Cinematographer Bruce Surtees does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with the usage of low-key lights and such for many of the film’s nighttime interior/exterior scenes with some natural lighting for the daytime scenes. Editor Carl Pingitore does brilliant work with the editing as it is straightforward for the dramatic moments but has an element of style in its approach to rhythm for the film’s suspenseful moments. Art director Dale Hennesy and set decorator Robert De Vestel do terrific work with the look of the police offices as well as the mayor’s office and the place where the killer lived. The sound work of William Randall is fantastic for the way gunfire sounds as well as some of the chaotic moments that goes on during some of the film’s action scenes. The film’s music by Lalo Schifrin is amazing for its jazz-driven score that play into the action and the suspense as it is a major highlight of the film.

The film’s superb cast feature some notable small roles from Lois Foraker as a local dame known as Hot Mary, Ruth Kobart as a school bus driver, William Paterson as a judge, Albert Popwell as a bank robber wounded by Callahan, Woodrow Parfrey as a diner owner friend of Callahan, Lyn Edgington as Gonzalez’s wife, John Larch as the police chief, and Josef Sommer as the district attorney who would mess things up for Callahan in the film’s third act. John Mitchum is terrific as the homicide inspector Fatso DiGiorgio who helps Callahan in some of the investigation as he shares some of Callahan’s views on the law. Harry Guardino is fantastic as Lt. Bressler as Callahan’s superior who doesn’t like Callahan’s methods but is aware that they work as he also tries to make sure that Callahan doesn’t get into any trouble. John Vernon is excellent as the city’s mayor who is trying to not to worry the public as he has a liking toward Callahan’s views but doesn’t want him to go too far. Reni Santoni is brilliant as inspector Chico Gonzalez as Callahan’s newly-assigned partner who learns a lot about what Callahan does as he also try to make an understanding of what is happening as well as be new into the world of homicide.

Andy Robinson is amazing as the killer sniper known as Scorpio as this psychotic madman that has no qualms in killing everyone with a sniper rifle as well as whatever he can find just to terrorize people. Finally, there’s Clint Eastwood in an outstanding performance as Harry Callahan in what is definitely one of his most iconic roles of his career. It’s a performance that has Eastwood be no-nonsense as well as show a sense of cynicism about the ways of the world with a dark yet dry wit that is engaging as well as be a total badass who refuses to take shit from anyone.

Dirty Harry is a magnificent film from Don Siegel that features a tremendous performance from Clint Eastwood in the titular role. Along with its brilliant supporting cast, an incredible film score, dazzling locations, and a riveting story. It’s definitely not just one of the finest crime films ever made but also a film that explores a man trying to hold the law without any compromise. In the end, Dirty Harry is a phenomenal film from Don Siegel.

Dirty Harry Films: Magnum Force – The Enforcer – Sudden Impact – The Dead Pool

Don Siegel Films: (Star in the Night) – (Hitler Lives) – (The Verdict (1946 film)) – (Night unto Night) – (The Big Steal) – (The Duel at Silver Creek) – (No Time for Flowers) – (Count the Hours) – (China Venture) – Riot in Cell Block 11 - (Private Hell 36) – (The Blue and the Gold) – (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) – (Crime in the Streets) – (Spanish Affair) – (Baby Face Nelson) – (The Lineup) – (The Gun Runners) – (Edge of Eternity) – (Hound-Dog Man) – (Flaming Star) – (Hell is for Heroes) – (The Killers (1964 film)) – (The Hanged Man) – (Stranger on the Run) – (Madigan) – (Coogan’s Bluff) – (Death of a Gunfighter) – (Two Mules for Sister Sara) – The Beguiled (1971 film) - (Charley Varrick) – (The Black Windmill) – (The Shootist) – (Telefon) – (Escape from Alcatraz) – (Rough Cut) – (Jinxed!)

© thevoid99 2017

Knight of Cups

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, Knight of Cups is the story of the troubled life of a Hollywood screenwriter who goes on a personal journey to find live and self-discovery during his trip to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Rumored to be part of an informal trilogy with The Tree of Life and To the Wonder as the films are semi-biographical stories on Malick’s own life. The film is partially inspired by the Christian allegory The Pilgrim’s Process and the passages Hymn of the Pearl and Acts of Thomas as they’re featured in a film that plays into a man trying to find his own existence in a decadent world. Starring Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Wes Bentley, Imogen Poots, Antonio Banderas, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Teresa Palmer, Brian Dennehy, and the voice of Ben Kingsley. Knight of Cups is a rapturous and exhilarating film from Terrence Malick.

Surrounding himself in Los Angeles and the world of Hollywood, the film revolves around a screenwriter coping with himself and struggles as he surrounds himself with different women while dealing with issues in his family including his father. It’s a film that doesn’t really have much of a plot nor a traditional narrative structure as it is largely loose in its storytelling structure where it’s largely based on the Knight of Cups tarot cards as each card represents a part of the journey that film’s protagonist Rick (Christian Bale) takes. Along the way, he deals with loss but also regret into things in his past while being aware of the environment he’s in that is filled with temptation, immorality, and decadence. In the course of the film, there are a lot of voice-over narration not just from Rick but also the many characters who are part of his life either temporarily or permanently while there is also this mysterious voice by an unseen character (Ben Kingsley) who recites passages and texts that relate to these tarot cards.

The lack of a conventional screenplay does allow its writer/director Terrence Malick to not just take on some major risks of what he would do as a storyteller. He would also go very deep into a world that might seem disconnected from the real world but also display that sense of disconnect as it relates to the reality that is encountered. Shot largely in Los Angeles as well as some scenes shot in Las Vegas, the Californian/Nevada deserts, and other parts of the American Midwest including St. Louis. It is a film that showcases that sense of conflict in a man who is embarking on this journey of self-discovery where he ventures into all sorts of things with different kinds of people. Among them are representations in the themes of the tarot cards in the form of Rick’s many different lovers in Della (Imogen Poot), a model named Helen (Freida Pinto), a spirited stripper named Karen (Teresa Palmer), a mysterious young woman named Isabel (Isabel Lucas), his ex-wife Nancy (Cate Blanchett), and a former lover in Elizabeth (Natalie Portman).

The usage of wide and medium shots for many of the film’s locations as well as close-ups for some of the intimate moments are very potent in their imagery while Malick’s usage of hand-held cameras in its mixture of 35mm film and digital just add to the sense of beauty of these images. Yet, there is so much more as it play into something that is very off-kilter as it relates to Rick’s own sense of uncertainty, loss, and self-discovery where the camera sort of acts as this unknown being watching over him. Plus, the narration acts as that sense of internal conflict within Rick who is yearning for some meaning in his life but is tempted by things such as money, beautiful women, and all of these things. The scenes involving Rick’s brother Barry (Wes Bentley) and their father Joseph (Brian Dennehy) show that sense of conflict that looms over Rick as well as loss where the narration reveal that they’re all suffering with Barry venturing into a self-destructive path that claimed the life of his brother.

Malick’s usage of handheld cameras do have this very evocative feel to the way everything is filmed while he also plays with time-lapse imagery. While it largely a style that is very experimental and certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It plays into something that does feel very personal where Malick is showing a world that he was a part of but one that showcases that struggle from having it all but also leaving a world where things were simpler. Adding to that air of simplicity is specter of spirituality as it relates to the character of Isabel, some of Helen’s private activities, and what Malick shows in Los Angeles and Las Vegas as it play into something is calling into Rick in his own personal journey and in the words of this unseen narrator. Overall, Malick creates an intoxicating yet enchanting film about a man’s personal journey of self-discovery through the chaotic world of Hollywood.

Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki does spectacular work with the film‘s very naturalistic cinematography to play with the many looks of the locations in the day as well as the scenes set at the home of this amoral millionaire along with some dazzling images of scenes set at night including a strip-club and the scenes set in Las Vegas which is so gorgeous to look at as it‘s one of the highlights of the film. Editors Mark Yoshikawa, Geoffrey Richman, Keith Fraase, and A.J. Edwards do brilliant work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts and disparate cutting montages to play into sense of wonderment that occurs throughout the film as well as some abrupt cuts to help structuralize the film. Production designer Jack Fisk, with set decorator Beauchamp Fontaine and art director Ruth De Jong, does amazing work with the some of the interiors in the homes that Rick encounters including a mansion in its dining room along with the look of the strip club with its neon lights.

Costume designer Jacqueline West does excellent work with the clothes that many of the characters wear including the Armani suits that Rick wears and some of the stylish dresses that many of the women in the film wear. Visual effects supervisor Jamison Scott Goei does fantastic work with the film‘s lone visual effects sequence as it relates into the mysterious elements of the universe described in one of Rick‘s voice-over narrations. Sound designers Joel Dougherty and Will Patterson do incredible work with the sound in the way much of the voice-over narrations as well as the sounds of the cities and locations mix without overwhelming each other along with some textures into the parties and such as it add so much to the world that Rick is being tempted by. The film’s music by Hanan Townshend is superb for its classical-based score with its serene string arrangements and low-key percussions while music supervisor Lauren Marie Mikus creates a soundtrack filled with classical pieces as well as contemporary music where the latter play into the parties scenes and what is playing on Rick’s car.

The casting by Francine Maisler and Lauren Grey is phenomenal as it features appearances from Joe Manganiello, Ryan O’Neal, Fabio, Danny Strong, Beau Garrett, Nick Kroll, Nicky Whelan, Jelly Howie, and Katia Winter as themselves appearing in Hollywood parties. Other notable small appearances include Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Jason Clarke, Joel Kinnaman, Peter Matthiesson, and Clifton Collins Jr. as colleagues of Rick who are part of that world as well as appearances from Nick Offerman, Michael Wincott, and Shea Whigham in small roles as Hollywood business personalities, Dane DeHaan as a tarot reader’s son, Jamie Harris and Lawrence Jackson as a couple of burglars, Patrick Whitesell and Rick Hess as a couple of agents, Cherry Jones as a relative of Rick’s, and Armin Mueller-Stahl as a priest who provides Rick some guidance into his own sense of doubt. The voice of Ben Kingsley as this unseen figure is superb for the sense of mystique that looms over the film as well as providing a sense of spiritual context into Rick’s journey.

Imogen Poots is fantastic as this rebellious fling of Rick’s in Della who asks Rick questions about his faithfulness and direction in life while Teresa Palmer is excellent as this stripper named Karen who entrances Rick as she accompanies him to Las Vegas. Freida Pinto is wonderful as the model Helen that Rick meets at a party as he briefly goes out with her while being intrigued by what she does at her home while Isabel Lucas is terrific as this innocent and playful young woman who is interpreted as this angelic figure that helps him find his way home. Wes Bentley is brilliant as Rick’s brother Barry as a man accompanying Rick throughout Los Angeles as he copes with his own issues as well as those relating to their father. Brian Dennehy is amazing as Rick and Barry’s father Joseph who deals with aging and being phased out while providing some somber narration as it relates to much of the text and legends of the tarot cards that would help guide Rick in his journey.

Antonio Banderas is incredible as a Hollywood playboy named Tonio as a man that represents all forms of temptation and immorality as someone that has a lust for life, excess, and women as he is sort of a comical figure in the film but also that representation of what Rick could be. Natalie Portman is radiant as Elizabeth as a former lover of Rick whom he loved dearly as she is seen as someone that could help find redemption for him as well as provide a link into what he could have if he chose the right path. Cate Blanchett is remarkable as Nancy as Rick’s former wife who devotes her time helping people as a physician as she copes with the love they had lost as well as the fact that there’s still feelings for one another as she is a representation of what he had and later gave up. Finally, there’s Christian Bale in a tremendous performance as Rick as a Hollywood screenwriter lost in the world of decadence and temptation as he copes with loss, guilt, and uncertainty where Bale doesn’t say a lot in the film but say a lot in his voice-over work where he would display that anguish and conflict of a man trying to find himself in his own personal journey of self-discovery.

Knight of Cups is a phenomenal film from Terrence Malick. Largely in part to its ensemble cast, a compelling premise, gorgeous visuals, and intoxicating music. It’s a film that is definitely challenging while not being something for everyone due to the fact that is told in a very unconventional form. Even as it displays some big questions about the world of temptation, loss, and life itself in ways that is very personal in the hands of its creator. In the end, Knight of Cups is a sensational film from Terrence Malick.

Terrence Malick Films: Badlands - Days of Heaven - The Thin Red Line - The New World - Tree of Life - To the Wonder - Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience - (Voyage of Time: Life's Journey) - Song to Song - A Hidden Life - (The Way of the Wind)

© thevoid99 2016

To the Wonder

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, To the Wonder is about an American man who falls for a European woman in France as he takes her and her daughter to America where their love dims as he starts to reconnect with a former flame. The film is an experimental feature of sorts for Malick that explores the world of love and its troubles as well as exploring the world of faith from the perspective of a priest. Starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, and Javier Bardem. To the Wonder is a enchanting and glorious film from Terrence Malick.

It’s a film that explores the idea of love in all of its splendor but also its trappings where everyone has these great intentions but there are forces that are unexplained that will tear them apart. While there isn’t much of a screenplay written for this film, there is still a structure of sorts into how Terrence Malick tells the story as the first act is about Neil (Ben Affleck) and Marina (Olga Kurylenko) meeting and falling in love where they go to America. The second act is about Marina going back to Paris after her visa expires where Neil is alone in Bartlesville, Oklahoma where he reconnects with an old flame in Jane (Rachel McAdams) as they have a brief affair. The third act is about Marina’s return to Bartlesville to marry Neil where their love starts to dim as they have no idea what went wrong where they turn to Father Quintana (Javier Bardem) who is going through his own crisis of faith.

A lesser script or a lesser filmmaker would’ve gone for some kind of plot schematics to flesh out the characters more or have them be placed into some kind of formula. In the hands of someone like Malick, it is very stripped down and very loose in order to explore the idea of love. Notably as it reveals the intentions of someone like Neil to give Marina and her daughter Tatiana (Tatiana Chiline) a good life that is free and enjoyable. The characters that Malick create are people who are flawed yet very realistic as Neil is a man who is kind and generous but is also a typical man who likes to look at other women. Marina is a free-spirit who likes to wander around any kind of surroundings as she’s somewhat childlike in the way she expresses herself. Upon her arrival to America, she has a hard time connecting with the people and the land as there is this sense of alienation that she and her daughter go through where Marina does have a brief rapport with Father Quintana who is also a foreigner.

Then there’s Jane who is a bit more grounded than Marina as she offers something to Neil that he finds appealing as well as the fact that they have a history together. Still, she knows that Neil is married as Neil is torn between his devotion to Marina but is also in love with Jane as she is hurt by these circumstances. The Father Quintana character is an interesting character but he is part of a subplot of his own as this foreign Catholic priest who lives in Bartlesville who is often questioning himself about his role in the world as he is trying to help others. Still, the sense of doubt he’s dealing with starts to overwhelm him where he and Neil start to connect by going directly to the people in Bartlesville to see what they can do. Still, Quintana is a commentator of sorts as he often talks about love and all of its complexities as it relates to Neil and Marina’s relationship. Even as Malick gives these four principle characters voice-over narrations (w/ Quintana in Spanish and Marina in French) to reflect on themselves and the people around them but it’s done in a mostly minimalist manner.

Malick’s direction is quite typical of what is known about him as a man who is known for creating these gorgeous images that only he could make as he’s spawned many imitators who have been influenced by his visual style. Still, there are things in Malick’s direction that sets him apart from not just his imitators but other filmmakers in the way he creates these free-flowing images filled with some unique framing devices and ethereal camera angles. Even as Malick would often incorporate images of nature to play up the idea of natural forces playing to the fates of these characters. While a lot of the film is shot in Bartlesville, Oklahoma where it is a unique slice of Americana that is filled with clean-cut grasses in the suburbs and places that is typical of American small towns. It does feel like a place that is quite foreign as well as a bit more structured opposed to some aspects of France that Marina lives in.

Malick’s direction is also taking some risks where it is definitely an experimental film of sorts where he also uses a bit of digital video early in the film through the use phone-cams and computers. Another thing that sets this film apart from his other films is that it takes place in a contemporary setting where Malick is going for this very cinema verite style of hand-held cameras of shooting a film just as things are happening around him where he would use a close-up of various real people in the film including convicts pleading to Father Quintana. While it’s a style that isn’t for everyone’s taste as there are things that do get a bit over-drawn in the third act as well as meanders a bit due to its lack of conventional script. It does have a payoff as it relates to the Mont St. Michel cathedral in France where Neil and Marina’s love reaches its apex as Marina through her voice-over calls it the Wonder. Overall despite a few flaws, Malick creates a film that is poignant and engrossing in its exploration into the world of love and faith.

Cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki does what is absolutely some outstanding work with the film‘s very gorgeous and intoxicating photography with its emphasis on natural lighting to create images that are just jaw-dropping. Even in some of the film‘s exterior settings in France and in Bartlesville, Oklahoma where the camera is always gazing into something that is otherworldly as well as some scenes in the exteriors where it maintains something that feels real as Chivo‘s work is just another of his great accomplishments as a cinematographer. Editors A.J. Edwards, Keith Fraase, Shane Hazen, Christopher Roldan, and Mark Yoshikawa do excellent work with the film’s stylized editing with its use of rhythmic jump-cuts as well as a few fade-outs to help structure the film.

Production designer Jack Fisk, with set decorator Jeanne Scott and art director David Crank, does superb work with some of the film‘s set pieces such as the house that Neil and Marina stay in Bartlesville as well as a few sets in France and other locations in Bartlesville. Costume designer Jacqueline West does nice work with the costumes as it is all casual though she makes some nice dresses for both Marina and Jane to establish their characters. Sound editor Craig Berkey and sound designer Erik Aadahl do amazing work with the sound to create some textures in the sound from the voice-overs to the way things sound on location as it’s definitely another highlight of the film.

The film’s soundtrack that is supervised by Lauren Marie Mikus is largely a collection of orchestral music that features some original compositions by Hanan Townshend as well as piece from Francisco Lupica. Still, it is largely dominated by the compositions of pieces by Hector Berlioz, Richard Wagner, Joseph Haydn, Ottorino Respighi, Tchaikovsky, Johann Sebastian Bach, Avro Part, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Henryk Gorecki. There’s also a few contemporary music that is played in the background by the Oh Sees and St. Vincent to establish the world of Bartlesville.

The casting by Chris Freihofer is remarkable as it consists largely of real people in the background with the exception of a few actors such as Charles Barker as a carpenter Marina befriends and Romina Mondello as an Italian friend of Marina who visits late in the film who questions about Marina’s love life. Tatiana Chiline is wonderful as Marina’s daughter Tatiana as a young girl who is like her mother while feeling out of place in a world as unique that is America. Javier Bardem is superb as Father Quintana as a man who is trying to deal with his doubt as well as trying to be there for the people in Bartlesville directly to see if he can make a difference in their life. Rachel McAdams is amazing as Jane as a woman dealing with her own loss as she and Neil reconnect in a love affair as it is a performance full of radiance and beauty.

Ben Affleck is excellent as Neil as a man who exemplifies all of the good natures of a man who can bring a lot to Marina but is also troubled by the fact that she’s a foreigner in a foreign land while he has temptations of his own as it’s a very engaging one from Affleck that doesn’t have him doing a lot but bringing exactly into what was needed. Finally, there’s Olga Kurylenko in a tremendous performance as Marina as a woman who is so full of life and wonderment as she thinks she has it all until arriving into America realizing how alien she feels in a new land while becoming more lost after marrying Neil as it’s definitely a performance that will be unforgettable.

To the Wonder is a rapturous and sensational film from Terrence Malick. Armed with a great ensemble cast and amazing technical work led by Emmanuel Lubezki’s ravishing cinematography. The film is definitely a very mesmerizing film that explores the world of love as well as faith. While it’s a film that will definitely baffle, annoy, and frustrate casual viewers though are moments that are quite accessible as it would recall some of Malick’s early films from the 1970s. The fact that it’s a very unconventional story is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea as it also contains some of more abstracts elements of Malick’s recent films. Still, there is nothing like this as To the Wonder is an incredible piece of cinema from one of its masters in Terrence Malick.

Terrence Malick Films: Badlands - Days of Heaven - The Thin Red Line - The New World - The Tree of Life - Knight of Cups - Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience - (Voyage of Time: Life's Journey) - Song to Song - A Hidden Life - (The Way of the Wind)

© thevoid99 2013

The Tree of Life

Though he had only had made four films from 1973 to 2005, Terrence Malick remains one of the most influential and revered filmmakers of American cinema. With everyone such as Wong Kar-Wai, Sofia Coppola, Quentin Tarantino, David Gordon Green, and many others cite him as an influential figure in films. He’s also someone that actors would want to work with no matter what the film is about or if they’ll even be in the final cut. Yet, he remains one of the most enigmatic directors in cinema with many wondering about his work process and why he cuts his films to the last minute. Especially for the fact that he doesn’t give any interviews nor does any publicity relating to his projects.

For years since the release of his second film Days of Heaven in 1978, the cult of Malick has grown among film buffs, aspiring filmmakers, and actors. The release of 1998’s The Thin Red Line helped Malick reach a new generation of film buffs as it would lead to a re-discovery of his work including his 1973 debut film Badlands. The release of 2005’s The New World was met with high anticipation among film buffs as some wondered what Malick would do next if was to make another film. In 2007, rumors emerged that Malick was in preparation of a new project and the big surprise was what the project is.

Back in 1978 after the completion of Days of Heaven, Malick was developing a project for Paramount that was entitled Q. A film that was to center around the origins of life on Earth which was to feature dinosaurs as part of a prologue. The project was supposed to be Malick’s follow-up as it reached the pre-production stages. Instead, the project fell apart as Malick would go on a 20-year sabbatical from the world of filmmaking. Following the release of The New World and the enthusiasm Malick has received from his cult following along with fellow filmmakers. Malick went ahead to revive Q into a much more personal project that is entitled The Tree of Life.

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life tells the story of a young boy growing up in American Midwest in the 1950s as he later becomes a lost soul as an adult in the modern world. The film recalls all of the visual imagery and poetic voice-over narration of all of Malick’s films in the past. Even as it questions the way the world works as the boy in the film is torn by his parents’ dueling ideologies that would lead to the loss of innocence that would haunt him years later as a man. Starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Fiona Shaw, Irene Bedard, and introducing Hunter McCracken. The Tree of Life is a majestic and exhilarating piece of art from Terrence Malick.

It’s the 1950s as a married couple in Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien (Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain, respectively) live in a quiet, peaceful environment in Waco, Texas. They would gain three sons in Jack (Hunter McCracken), R.L. (Laramie Eppler), and Steve (Tye Sheridan) as Mr. O’Brien runs a nearby plant while creating patents that he hopes would make him rich. During this period of growing up, the boys would learn the ways of life as their mother offers grace and peace while their father reveals that being good isn’t enough as they had to fight to get what they want. For Jack, the dueling ideologies his parents offer would impact his life during the year.

Following the death of a boy (Tyler Thomas), Jack’s view of the world changes as he would harbor his father’s view of the world as he intrigued by a young girl from his school and a woman who lives around his neighborhood. Angered by his father’s strict ways and at his mother’s refusal to stand up to him, he begins to defy his parents while becoming more confused by God himself. Following a big change for the family, tragedy happens as it would impact the O’Briens immensely. Even as Jack (Sean Penn) in his adult life feels lost in the modern world trying to find answers.

The years when a child grows up to understand the world from what he knew then and what he would know later on is a crucial period in that person’s life. Yet, it would also be the moment where a child not just loses his innocence but also begins to question about the wonders of the world. What Terrence Malick creates is something much broader than just a boy’s loss of innocence but also in how tragedy impacts a boy’s life into his journey as a man lost in a world he couldn’t relate to. Even as he tries to wrestle between his mother’s sense of grace and mercy and his father’s idea of fierce will.

The film doesn’t actually begin with this narrative about the O’Briens but opens with a couple of quotes from the Book of Job (Ch. 38-4 & 7). The story of Job would also appear in a scene where the O’Briens attend church as it reminds audience about God’s will where he gives and then takes. This leads to a brief montage of images relating to death and the tragedy the O’Briens would eventually face throughout the film. Then it leads to a marvelous sequence of images including outer space, volcanoes, and dinosaurs that revolves around Earth’s evolution. Many will question what does these scene have to do with the main narrative. Well, it doesn’t have to do anything with the main narrative but anyone that goes to the Book of Job quote will think it’s all part of something much bigger.

The main narrative of the O’Briens’ family life and Jack’s evolution in his age of 11 definitely has something audiences can relate to. In many ways, the film is a coming of age story but also a film about innocence lost that is taken to a grander scale. While a lot of the ideas about a man reflecting on his childhood has a premise that is similar to Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1975 film The Mirror. The difference between this and Tarkovsky’s film is that Malick brings in more questions and has tighter structure to his story along with a more central focus on its characters. Notably Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien and Jack as they each have voice-overs questioning their existence and the ways of the world.

Malick’s script, or lack thereof, does allow the audience to get to know the family. While R.L. and Steve don’t get much coverage, their observance into the behavior of the film would impact young Jack as he is torn between his parents’ dueling ideology. In turn, Malick lets the audience see the young Jack be confused and frustrated with this new outlook on life as he vents his anger on God and his parents. Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien both represent different sides as Mr. O’Brien is a stern disciplinarian trying to prepare his sons for a harsh world with Mrs. O’Brien as this gentle, angelic woman who lets them wander. Both are flawed and aware of it as they would duke it out once in a while. Yet, they’re human and what is expected in parents as it is clear that kids would become their parents in some form as they struggle to find some acceptance right in the end.

Malick’s direction definitely has him taking this simple story of a family in 1950s Texas into a much larger scale. While Malick maintains an intimacy and a free-flowing style of direction by allowing the camera to follow the family. Taking use of various shooting styles whether its hand-held, tracking shots, steadicams, and crane shots to capture this simple world of a family’s house and following a young boy’s growth away from childhood. Malick brings a naturalistic yet impressionist view of this family’s life as it’s shot largely on location in Smithville, Texas with other towns and cities in that state. The potency of Malick’s direction is mystifying in his scenes of the modern world where the shots of skyscrapers from above or on ground help exemplify the adult Jack’s sense of alienation.

While some of the scenes in the film’s main narrative features shots inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky including a scene where Mrs. O’Brien levitates that is a reference to The Mirror. Many of the film’s scenes involving the creation of Earth and its landscapes including wavering light that appears throughout the film will get some viewers to think of Stanley Kubrick. There is a Kubrickian element to many of the creation scenes as its mixture of computer visual effects, old-school visual effects, and naturalistic camera work that is partially supervised by Douglas Trumbull, the man who did some of the visual effects work for 2001: A Space Odyssey. These scenes of Earth’s creation along with these marvelous images of nature are truly some of the greatest sequences ever made as Malick takes it to new heights.

The overall direction that Malick creates is astounding as he creates a film that is truly one-of-a-kind. It raises many questions about spirituality, humanity, existence, and a whole lot more while not giving any answers. At times, the film meanders which will be frustrating to watch at times. Yet, that is typical of Malick who takes his time with the pacing so that audiences can figure out a time period where things were much simpler and slower. The scenes near the end of the film does raise much broader questions about death and the afterlife as Malick creates something that goes beyond the language of film. What Malick does overall as an auteur is create something in a large scale that challenges its audience but doesn’t overwhelm them with any kind of message. With this films, Malick truly takes his place as one of the greatest artists working today.

Helming the film’s cinematography is Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki who previously worked with Malick on The New World. Chivo’s photography is truly marvelous to watch in the way he creates a naturalistic look to the film as it is exquisite in every frame captured on film. For many of the scenes in Smithville, Chivo creates something that is beautiful but also has a flair of nostalgia while the scenes in the cities are vast in its imagery. With additional photography by Ellen Kuras and Benoit Delhomme for small shots in New York and France, respectively, Chivo’s camera work is truly out of this world as he creates what is certainly his best camera work of his career.

Editors Billy Weber, Hank Corwin, Daniel Rezende, Jay Rabinowitz, and Mark Yoshikawa do a fantastic job with the editing of the film. Weber, a longtime Malick associate, states that when editing a film for Malick, editing everyone else’s films are easy as it’s clear that a lot of work went into the cutting of the film. While the film has the typical pacing approach of all of Malick’s other films, the editing has more flair to its approach. Even in the creation sequence as there’s speedy cuts and half-frame speeds to complement Earth’s evolution while the rest of it is mostly straightforward with elements of style in some parts of the film.

Longtime Malick collaborator in production designer Jack Fisk, along with set decorator Jeanette Scott and art director David Crank, does a phenomenal job with the look of the O‘Briens home as well as the look of 1950s Waco, Texas. Fisk and his team create something that is magical of a simpler time while the home of the O’Briens along with its tree and backyard is presented with great detail of a typical 1950s suburban home. It is truly a joy to look as Fisk and company bring life to the world of 1950s Texas. Costume designer Jacqueline West does an excellent job with the costumes from the suits that the men and boys wear to the dresses that Mrs. O’Brien wears as it has a distinct, 1950s look that truly plays to that era.

Visual effects supervisor Dan Glass and legendary visual effects consultant Douglas Trumbull do a spectacular job with the visual effects sequences made for the Creation sequence. A mixture of old-school 1960s visual effects style along with computer-created visual effects, it is truly beyond description from the look of outer-space and planets that has something that looks like it was made in 3-D without the 3-D effects that is seen in a lot films. Even the dinosaurs has a look that might seem a little sketchy but a closer look allows to see the beauty of it. The overall visual effects work is truly out of this world and really sets a benchmark of what could be done in terms of a film like this.

Sound designers Craig Berkey and Erik Aadahl do an amazing job with the sound work from the naturalistic atmosphere of the scenes in Smithville to the little towns and places nearby. Even with the voice-overs as it brings an ethereal quality to what is happening. For the Creation of Earth sequence, the sound is more forceful and lifelike to describe the way Earth is created as the overall work is masterful.

The film’s music soundtrack that is supervised by Roanna Gillespie is truly another highlight of the film with its array of classical and operatic pieces to the original score from Alexandre Desplat. While Desplat’s score is used sparesly throughout the film with its soft piano peaces and eerie orchestral arrangements. Desplat is able to play up the mixture of joy and anger in the characters and scenes as it features some of his best work as a composer.

The rest of the film’s soundtrack features a variety of pieces ranging from church hymns to the works of composers like Gustav Mahler, Arsenjie Jovanovic, Michael Baird, Klaus Wiese, Henryk Gorecki, Francois Couperin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and many others. The two pieces that play throughout the film are Bedrich Smetana’s Vltava (The Moldau), in the main narrative, and Zbigniew Preisner’s Lacrimosa 2 for the Creation sequence. The overall film score and soundtrack is truly one of best collection of music ever assembled for a film like this.

The casting by Francine Maisler and Vicky Boone is amazing for the discovery of actors that appear in the film. In small film roles, the cast features appearances from Will Wallace as an associate of Jack‘s work as an architect, Jessica Fuselier as a mystical guide, Irene Bedard as a spiritual messenger, Joanna Going as Jack’s wife, Tyler Thomas as the boy Jack sees drown, Kelly Koone as the local preacher in church, and Fiona Shaw in a small but memorable appearance as Jack’s grandmother. Other notable small roles in the younger versions of Jack are played by Finnegan Williams and Michael Koeth in the respective ages of 2 and 5 along with John Howell as the two-year old R.L. Sean Penn is great in a small but understated performance as the adult Jack who is more confused and haunted by his own life as well as the tragedy he’s dealing with.

Laramie Eppler and Tye Sheridan are excellent in their small but memorable roles as R.L. and Steve, respectively. Eppler and Sheridan bring a joyful yet naturalistic quality to their performance with Eppler as the middle-child with a talent to play guitar and Sheridan as the youngest who is amazed by his brothers. Brad Pitt is superb in the complex role of Mr. O’Brien, a tough man who loves his family but is desperate to succeed so he can give them a great life. Yet, Pitt displays a man who tries to show his boys the harsh idea of the world as he makes Mr. O’Brien into a flawed man who has good intentions but knows that he can be wrong as well.

Jessica Chastain is brilliant in the angelic role of Mrs. O’Brien. Displaying grace and radiance into a character that is so pure but also human for the way she deals with grief. It’s a real breakthrough performance for the actress as she brings a quality that is unlike anything out there in film as it’s a truly engaging yet ethereal performance from the young actress. Finally, there’s Hunter McCracken in an outstanding performance as the young Jack. McCracken displays a performance that is very realistic and complex about an 11-year old boy coming-of-age where he begins to asks big questions and ponder about the world and his parents. It’s really a performance that is up to par with other break-out performances in Malick’s previous films such as Sissy Spacek’s Holly in Badlands, Linda Manz’s Linda in Days of Heaven, Jim Caviezel’s Private Witt in The Thin Red Line, and Q’orianka Kilcher’s Pocahontas in The New World. It is truly an amazing debut for the young actor.

To say a film like The Tree of Life is a masterpiece or a one-of-a-kind film kind of understates the power it has. It is much more than that as the experience of watching a film like this in a cinema is beyond anything to describe. It’s not a film for everyone which isn’t surprising with all of Terrence Malick’s films. Yet, it does have something that audiences will reach back to in their own lives and recall their own childhood. It’s a film that also allows anyone who is religious or anti-religious to question about God and his will whether they believe it or not. A religious audience might be baffled by its complexity and lack of message that is often prevalent in Christian-based films.

The Tree of Life is truly a film that will polarize people and even at first viewing, it is difficult to comprehend and understand. Yet, it has images and themes that are truly inescapable and allows that person to understand maybe themselves or the world itself. There aren’t many pictures like this and probably never will be in many years as Terrence Malick created something that goes beyond the idea of what cinema and art is and can be. The Tree of Life is without a doubt, a film like nothing else that has come before or since then. While it may not be as good as Malick’s other films like Days of Heaven or The Thin Red Line in terms of conventional storytelling. It is a testament that Malick is currently among the greats in either film or art. The Tree of Life is definitely a beautiful yet mesmerizing film from Terrence Malick.

Terrence Malick Films: Badlands - Days of Heaven - The Thin Red Line - The New World - To the Wonder - Knight of Cups - Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience - (Voyage of Time: Life's Journey) - Song to Song - A Hidden Life - (The Way of the Wind)

© thevoid99 2011