The Tree of Life (2011)

The Tree of Life (2011) Trailer

Reading movie review before watching the Tree of Life definitely helps a lot in understanding the movie.

I have really high hopes before watching this movie. I know there are many beautiful empty shots. The director wants to talk about family, life and universe. Part of the reason I want to watch the movie is Brad Pitt. I like his performance in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

This is the first time I eat nachos while watching movie and it is the weirdest experience. Most of the time, it is so quite in the cinema. No dialogue, no sound effects and no background music. I can hear the crunchy noise of me eating nachos. I have to eat cautiously between scenes. All of a sudden, there is a loud noise of engine running and the screen shows Brad talking on the phone. Then I quickly grasp the chance to eat nachos. Though the images are stunning, 15 minutes of empty shots can be cut without losing its meaning.

It has an uncommon movie structure. We can’t easily tell what are Act I, Act II and Act III. The pace of the movie is slow in the beginning. It becomes more exciting during the conflict between the father and the sons. The Mother’s character is too “naive”. Her role in the family is only to play with the children. She didn’t teach them at all. Responsibilities of parenting go to the Father. Thus, the Mother symbolizes love and care while the Father symbolizes harsh and punishment. I believe that parenting is the responsibility of BOTH parents.

There are some doubts in my head when I leave the cinema. Did they mention that Sean Penn is Brad Pitt’s grown up son in the movie? Which of the three sons has died? I guess it is the youngest brother who died as there is more depiction of him and his eldest brother. Are the people on the beach all dead? Is it a beach in heaven? The director has not explicitly given the answer. I can only judge by my experience with other movies.

It would be better if the Tree of Life is a novel or a book of poetry. The director wants the audience to think. But as a movie, it has a predetermined pace, unlike a book which the readers could choose when to think if they want to. Some audience may find the footage of the universe too long while the depiction of the family is proportionately too little. Sometimes, I do feel like I’m watching National Geographic or that I went to the Space Museum.

In conclusion, the movie is for sophisticated viewers. The only time the audience laugh is at the end of the movie, where they are shocked by how the movie suddenly ends. “Seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith” is too big for general audiences. If it is a student’s experimental film, he would be commented by his teacher, “Much cry and little wool.”

Darn! This is what I want to produce!