The thin red line[1998]

I have a love and hate relationship with Terence Malick. You know that feeling when you're pissed off at someone, say your girlfriend/boyfriend, and you just want to slap him/her, but, in the same time, god, you just love her/him and get the urge to kiss. When I saw Tree of Life, I was in a constant battle between slapping and kissing!This movie had a different situation!

"The thin red line" is a fantastic movie! Everything is wonderful, from the cinematography, to the script, direction, music and most definitely, the acting! It still has some weak points, but still...

Let's start from the beginning! I love the fact that you can, firstly, hear the voice and feel the attitude of a character, then see him in action- a beautiful way of introducing the men and showing us, as the movie progresses, how they really are. 

All of the shooting scenes and the missions seem real and the best part is that Malick doesn't focuses his attention on the blood or actual fighting, but on the reactions and emotions of the soldiers. They are the core of this movie and it is just a way for us to understand and relate to those who have lived this kind of horror. You can find anything in the middle of the action, from men going crazy to others who indifferently sit next to dying soldiers. The war has transformed them and Malick shows us how through a 170 minute journey into their mind and soul. 

The cast was exceptional and recognizable, even if you don't watch a lot of movies: Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, John Travolta, Adrien Brody, Woody Harelson, John C.Reilly, Jared Leto, John Cussack and others. Nick Nolte, especially, is crazy good as the man in charge of the island, who has to go down into the battlefield to take charge when his captain(Elias Koteas) can't. 

The key character and actor in this, for me, was James Caviezel. There is just something about him: it draws people in, his eyes, his calm and numbness, his raw emotions are wonderfully displayed. He is the heart and soul of the battalion and of this movie. 

One thing I still don't like about the Terence Malick movies is the voice-overs. I understand they are meant to give substance and more meaning to the story and create an atmosphere, but most of the time, for me anyway, it is distracting and I just give up, all together, listening to it and prefer to watch the action on screen! Plus, it can be a little boring to watch for some- 170 minutes!

In the end, it's a story about war, suffering, fear, ignorance and humans; it's a story about young men who go to war with fear, but go out with a calmness and numbness that only war soldiers can understand!

Fantastic movie, I really hope you will see it, if you haven't already!

Tree of Life[2011]

I finally got around to seeing Tree of Life by Terence Malick!

I started watching this with the idea in my mind that I will probably hate it or think it is too much for me. Let's just say that I was right, but I got a few surprises, as well!

The first thing you need to know about this movie is that it's a unique one, not something you normally see. You love it or you hate it! There are few chances to get in the middle (surprise, surprise, I am there, anyway, moving on).

The film starts with the story of a 1950s family, with Pitt as the father figure, Jessica Chastain as the mother and 3 young brothers. It's the beginning of a beautiful, sad, yet very real story following the normal struggles that a family can go through. Here, Terence Malick shows his great gift and surprises the audience (well, actually maybe just me) with amazing camera movement: sometimes it's erratic, uneven, alert, but beautiful, it feels like he is playing with the camera, experimenting the best way to introduce us into their lives; other times, it's looks studied and fluid.

Then we go into the part that I don't understand and I think shouldn't even be in the movie. Although I loved the nature scenes and they were very well executed, I didn't really understand their relevance. I know, it has a deeper meaning that I am not getting! My loss!

Seeing this film, I couldn't help thinking about what Terence Malick was thinking and why did he choose to shows particular scenes that didn't feel necessary or interesting enough to be on screen. The whole movie, in my perspective, is like the mind of an artist, a creative, mad genius. You feel like he is telling the story, he is behind the camera- he has so many ideas and thoughts, that sometimes he can't put them in a simple, straight way, he doesn't know how to express them in a logical manner. It is very appealing and mesmerizing and you can sense there is more then meets the eye, but it's so chaotic and so artistic, that for the majority of the people seeing it, it gets confusing.

After the nature scenes, we go back to reality and the family. He shows us the love connection between the man and woman and then goes on to show and describe the life of the 3 brothers- their fears, the love they have for one another, trust, sympathy, questions, feelings etc.; you get that for the next 1 hour and 45 minutes and this where things go downhill for me. As much as I loved seeing Jessica Chastain unearthly presence, the fantastic performances given by the father (Brad Pitt) and the son(Hunter McCracken) and, again, the fluid way it was shot, 105 minutes is a bit too much. I got bored and was hoping, by the end of it, to just get it over with it.

I was so annoyed by those long, unnecessary scenes, that I didn't even had the patience to properly see and understand the end of the movie, who anyway seemed too deep and philosophical for me. Hey, I admit, I don't have that level of knowledge or appreciation of art- but I am getting there!

I am not saying it is not a good movie, because it is, but it is too much sometimes! Terence Malick tried to create an amazing artistic film, but didn't really stop and think about what the audience might want or understand. It might have won the Palme D'or, but does he really want it to be seen and loved only by a very small percentage of the population?Maybe he does and I am just stupid!

In the end, most of my friends (and by that I mean 90% of them) would hate this movie and walk out during the dinosaurs scenes, so I will not recommend them. I don't think you should see it either, unless you are a cinephile or love art in any form. Then maybe you should give a try!

Am I crazy? What did you think of it?

P.S. Just because I loved the cinematography and the posters are great, here are 2 more!