Who needs Terrence Malick?
Who cares if he lives or dies? Or maybe what good are his films? (especially after Days of Heaven) Who would want to listen to some men and women (old and young) not speak their mind but murmur? It sounds funny when Mark Kermode, an English film critic, reviews Malick's films; his review of The Tree of Life. "What are you going to write in that letter?" questions a girl to the character of Christian Bale. Then after a camera gliding pause, she says, "you better not say it." Yes, that's the thing I'm referring to. NOT SAYING! ???
Not to say anything, but to meander around. Not to enter, but to beat around the bush. In a perpetual state of assuming, and when nothing comes out of it, just to give up until it doesn't matter much (it never ceases to not matter, that's the curse). I like how sure some characters(mostly older ones) are in his movies. When they talk about something as complex as love and how it came to them. I like how in retrospect, they know that what they felt in that moment was love or any other feeling. And they are trying to tell the other characters about it. But the irresolute other is (or maybe not, until they mumble) as confused as he was before the meeting.
Maybe the question should've been - When do we need Malick? Every wish is granted when everything's done for, but the character still feels something gnawing on them. Maybe it's just then when we need Malick. Maybe.
In The Tree of Life, he tells us about grace and nature. And then shows us what he was talking about (preaching, maybe). Also, we see offspring trying to acquire traits of nature. Nature that is a hypocrite, moody, demanding, uptight, and a conductor*. In some way, it's like a control fight between nature and grace; grace forgives, and nature never forgets.
It is a weird (kind of) coming-of-the-age story. I'm talking about Jack, played by Hunter McCracken and Sean Penn. How many coming-of-age films show you the grown-up teen?
I wish that Tarkovsky were alive to watch The Tree of Life.
