Random Movie Review: The Tree Of Life

Reel Room Presents A Random Movie Review: The Tree Of Life

It's hard to imagine when you look at another human being what you're really seeing is trillions of microscopic organisms all living and communicating with each other in a symbiotic manner. From the textbook definition, life is nothing more than a reaction that was caused by a cosmic explosion that resulted in a domino effect of subsequent reactions that eventually gave birth to bacterial cells in the water. These bacteria grew and developed into cells which eventually came together to form tissues, organs and finally organisms. Organisms got tired of the water and left for land and millions of years later we sit in front of the computer screen or phone reading
this post. In the most basic sense, that is life. 

"You see that honey? That's where God lives." - Mrs. O'Brian

However we all know that life is more than just cells adhering to each other and the transmission of ions across a chemical gradient. What separates life as we know it from the definition of life is another four letter word that begins with L and yes it is love; but not the kind of "relationship" love that sappy teenagers gawk over. No this is having love for life and for nature and all things that happen to be involved with living. Recently I watched a movie known as "The Tree Of Life" and today as I write I look back on life and how our misconceptions about life are the greatest gifts known to humanity. It was a film directed by Terrence Malick, a well-known artist. Malick does not create movies like the ones we pay $9.75 for, instead he creates moving masterpieces transfixed on the most basic and yet deepest abstract ideas. Life, love, loss, innocence, holiness are just a few. I will refrain from explaining the plot in this one because it's truly a film that needs to be analyzed by the viewer. No amount of reviews or reading can prepare one for the emotional and conceptual film known as "The Tree Of Life."

Your mother's naive. It takes fierce will to get ahead in this world.
If you're good, people take advantage of you.- Mr. O'Brian

"The Tree Of Life" stars our new favorite zombie killer and hit man Brad Pitt, the cryogenically frozen mobster Sean Penn as well as the lovely Jessica Chastain. The Pitt and Chastain play the parents of a typical American family, the O'Brians, with three young and curious boys. The movie surrounds the life of the eldest son known as Jack and watches as his life is exposed to a multitude of variable from death to trust between brothers. The first half of The Tree Of Life is centered around the actual creation of life; we watch cells divide and multiply, nebula's and galaxies split apart and even watch a dinosaur get his head trampled. The movie isn't dialogue oriented, instead it is relatively silent and grants one the ability to use their heart and mind to understand and reflect on the themes present. Pitt's character is a maverick, he is an overbearing father who is teaches tough love to his boys (Major Payne style). I really wanted to hate his character for the way he treated his sons and wife but as I examined it closer I realized that he was doing what was necessary to train up his children. He eventually sees the error of his foolish ways and devotes himself to change. Chastain is a stay at home mother who reminds you of a hippie; various scenes she can be found wandering in the grass or forest barefoot. She is well kept and soft spoken. It is in her kind words that the boys find shelter from their father's harsh beliefs. Mrs. O'Brien is the guardian angel, she fills the boy's head with goodness and lessons that can't be taught through life.

"Funeral Canticle" - John Taverner 

 The main character Jack is beautiful, in a sense that he is innocent. The film literally watches him grow from an infant to a conflicted teenager. What makes this character unique is the way he reflects on his actions and the actions of others. Jack represents all of us, the child-like mind that so many of us repress and refuse to listen to. In the grand scheme of nature and life we are but a child, wandering the woods of experience. During certain scenes we hear Jack's prayer with God, it's untainted and naive; yet as we watch Jack go through his days we notice that his actions do not match with his prayers, thus creating a rift between what he wants to believe and what he actually does. He constantly questions God: when his classmate dies, when his father scolds him, and even when he loses something dear to him. We watch as his baby dimples and smile slowly diminishes into a solemn grin that is plastered on his sketched face at times. It's almost twisted how as we grow older the more we sacrifice for each day we are given. The movie has me at a true loss for words, it is poetically holy and scientifically demoralizing at the same time. I would recommend taking time alone to watch this movie, its very thought provoking and riveting. Also this film is not for everybody, some of us have yet to understand the beauty that is nature. It's more than a coming of age tale, it's a story about what happens while the world turns. 

Are You watching me? I want to know what You are.
I want to see what You see. - Jack

The musical selection was everything. Full of harmonic choruses and deep strings. At times it creates a sorrowful lamentation and yet it turns into the sound of nature itself. Even now as the music fades in the background I feel as though I can hear each note dropping with the raindrops falling outside. The other breathtaking aspect about "The Tree Of Life" was the visual effects. The first thirty minutes of film which we observe the origins of life are immensely powerful. You want to feel emotions when you watch the cells ingest each other and yet you take a step back and realize that this is a mechanical process that happens every day. And suddenly your caught in between sympathizing with the complex autonomous aspects life but relating to the vastly unpredictable virtuous acts that we know. 

How do I get back? To where they are. - Jack

The theme I resonated with the most in the film was the dual teaching the boys were getting from each parent. Mother and Father both essentially represent the two sides of life, the realistic and the abstract. Ever since we were children we were told of the abstract ideals associated with life, and yet as we continue to grow, develop feelings and experience impurity, we soon begin to question whether these ideals are true. The Father figure wants us to be fully prepared for the world and not rely on things like hope faith and joy; but rather hard work, suffering and self-motivation. However the Mother is instilling in us those values neglected by Father in order to give substance to life. One particular quote that  Mrs. O'Brian said was "The only way to be happy is to love, unless you love your life will flash by". This ultimately brings us to the point that it's not enough to simply live a life. As cliche as that sounds, there is often truths in cliches. Life happens all around us at any given moment. While we constantly debate whether God exists or life began from a cosmic explosion, we must always remember that it is ours to hold for a time period so trivial things such as money and success matter not. What is it that separates us from the pseudomonas aeruginosa that plague murky waters, or the extinct dinosaurs? How can we pride ourselves on a thing such as life but yet we have no idea how much value is truly in it? Why is it that when a life is lost that it hurts humans so bad, yet in the animal kingdom a death is considered beneficial? Why do we not marvel every time we grow a hair or a tree sprouts seeds? Our desensitization of life has caused us to often forget the bareness and simplicity associated with it. And yet we still continue to enjoy the sights and sounds that nature orchestrates for us. What is it that makes life worth sacrificing our God-given infant-like purity? What keeps the tree of life rooted into the soil? It's simple. Love. 

Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to lord it over them. To have its own
way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it. And love is smiling through all things. - Mrs. O'Brian

~The White Rabbit