tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post3465234695035292273..comments2024-02-10T01:22:29.316-08:00Comments on Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies: Wonder, Hope, and Love: Further thoughts on The Tree of LifeKevin J. Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-17633955956492656652011-07-05T19:47:50.612-07:002011-07-05T19:47:50.612-07:00David:
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the ...David:<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comment! I have seen the film twice now. I still don't think I've fully conveyed everything I want to about this film, but my two posts so far are good enough until I'm ready for a third immersion into this massive film. <br /><br />Your comment about Malick being a composer of film more than a director seems right-on-the-money to me. I like that. <br /><br />Oh, and read some Whitman! Hehe. <br /><br />Thanks, as always, David!Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-21142914664011152462011-07-05T19:45:30.356-07:002011-07-05T19:45:30.356-07:00Sam:
As always, I really appreciate the thoughtfu...Sam:<br /><br />As always, I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of your comment. I love the music connection you make to the film. The one thing I can remember saying to myself when the movie was over was, "damn, that was some beautiful music."<br /><br />I appreciate the comment and you taking the time to read this piece. It was a lot of fun to think about and to write. I hope to be a little more productive now that the summer is in full swing. <br /><br />Thanks again, Sam!Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-55133264401702162112011-07-05T19:43:12.724-07:002011-07-05T19:43:12.724-07:00Jason:
Thanks you for singling out that line abou...Jason:<br /><br />Thanks you for singling out that line about gratitude. It was at the forefront of mine throughout all of my ruminations, and I think it's the best way I can describe my reaction to the film. I'm just thankful that this was made and that it's out there for people to wrestle with. <br /><br />I agree with your idea that the ending and the creation sequences seems like something that Malick HAD to get off of his chest, so if those scenes are messy, it's because they're messy in his brain, and so maybe the execution of those very massive, very elusive ideas is the best we can possibly hope for. <br /><br />Again, I commend Malick in trying to make the intangible visible. With time, I'm looking forward to another viewing. <br /><br />Thanks for the comment, Jason.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-13549397282505131232011-07-05T12:01:09.937-07:002011-07-05T12:01:09.937-07:00Thanks, everyone, for the comments. I just got bac...Thanks, everyone, for the comments. I just got back into town, so I'll get to these comments later tonight. I just wanted drop-in quickly and let you all know that I've read your comments and appreciate them!Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-73382101973810365242011-07-04T20:54:25.094-07:002011-07-04T20:54:25.094-07:00Kevin - I enjoyed this as much as your initial rea...Kevin - I enjoyed this as much as your initial reaction. I'm more familiar with Walt Whitman's bridge (and driving over it) than I am with his poetry, so I'm not as sure of that connection as I am of you Thoreau connection. I'm with Sam on the "music theory" and I believe Malick is more a composer of film than a director. <br /><br />At any rate, many probing ruminations displayed here and I love how you picked up on much of the symbolism - another testament to the film's power. I'm wondering - have you seen it only once so far?David H. Schleicherhttp://theschleicherspin.com/2011/06/11/memory-and-magic-in-terrence-malicks-the-tree-of-life/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-16049785281069587932011-07-04T10:47:31.553-07:002011-07-04T10:47:31.553-07:00Kevin, this is a towering review in every sense, s...Kevin, this is a towering review in every sense, scholarly, probing, exceptionally referenced! I like the connection to Walt Whitman though I have further contended that the shape of THE TREE OF LIFE is more attuned to a symphony in music than it is to a story arc in literature. This is partly as a result of Malick wanting to express himself in “movements” where each evokes moods and textures, but are unquestionably tied to the larger whole of the work, where he intends everything to come full circle. Again recalling Kubrick, the director places music as the vital component to replace dialogue in enhancing his visuals with the proper aural accompaniment to bring his entrancing ideas to full fruition. Among other notable composers, Malick, echoing 2001: A Space Odyssey makes superlative use of Brahams, Gorecki, Berlioz, Bach, Holst and Mahler, which he apparently instructed Alexandre Desplat to incorporate into his own score. The sublime choral passages underline the film’s extraordinary second act, when Malick envisions the dawn of the universe include Zbigniew Preisner’s sublime “Lacrimosa” and give the film a spiritual undercurrent that oddly meshes with the astronomical truths that have always negated theological doctrine. You have done an astounding job in attempting to unravel the mysteries of the film, and in placing it is a broader context.<br /><br />I am thrilled at your 'masterpiece' label too. For me it contends for the bets film of 2011 so far with Carey Fukanaga's British JANE EYRE.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-82193442157559647372011-07-04T10:42:34.231-07:002011-07-04T10:42:34.231-07:00Beautiful job, man. Yes, gratitude. That's rig...Beautiful job, man. Yes, gratitude. That's right on!<br /><br />Indeed, this is a film of multitudes, and as I've been reflecting on it more -- after three viewings and time -- I've come to wonder if the conclusion (which you know I have problems with) might have a lot in common with the creation of the universe sequence: that is, perhaps it's just a scene Malick always had in him and needed to express, needed to get on film, and so it doesn't <em>quite</em> fit because it can't; it's a product of Malick's multitudes, more so than an extension of the middle core of the picture itself. Just an idea I'm kicking around in my head.<br /><br />Bless Malick for releasing this mid-year. It's a movie that needs to be, and deserves to be, chewed on, over long summer days.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.com