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The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick is brave and goes to the limit of the philosophical weights always pretentious and complex, through an intricate montage of images and sounds (yes, who knows what Godard wanted to do in terms of narrative language in Film Socialisme and failed miserably), we see the beginning and the end of life, from the the macro to the microcosm.
The incredible sequence of 18 minutes following the creation of life in the universe from the Big Bang to the simplest cell in the earth is a catharsis. Uncommon in the today’s cinema, it shows signs of what the film is a work unique sensory, a spectacle narrated Kubrickian, 2001 – A Space Odyssey of our time, all recreated from the lens of the Hubble telescope and Douglas Trumbull, coincidentally or not, a veteran of the special effects who also participated in 2001.
The sequence serves as a reallocation of human life on a universal scale, we are all so tiny towards everything that the universe has passed and still arrogant enough to believe that everything revolves around us, as seen in the permanent collections of "God" something which is totally absent in the film. The loss of one human life even though affects the undeniable and irreversible way the life all around us, is negligible towards everything else. It is a double-edged sword, because every minute we are reminded through memorable images with the photography by Emmanuel Lubezki, which are often the simplest things, life is found in every corner of the planet, each microorganism is a miracle for itself that defies existence.
Although Sean Penn doesn’t even have a dialogue in the film, his role is crucial to represent the grief of the modern world that increasingly moves away from nature and grace, and why not, the enjoyment of life itself. This fellowship has been lost, and not towards the tacky thing, but through the symbolic gesture of planting a tree and create a life that is relegated to the memories, life just passing without realizing it. It is a sadden detachment set in depressed physiognomy of Jack. Because all that time went too fast, and somehow never going to look real.
It is good to note how far off the narration for the movie itself contributes, the personality of each character is made forcefully, and the dialogue is unnecessary. Life is unable to be defined by words, just images you are entitled.
That's why this film was conceived as a work so important to feel alive , like the purest art . A gesture, like the hand of a father resting on the shoulder of a child choked with regret, the foot of a newborn child insured by the hands of the same father, barefoot in wet grass, a look, no matter how small, who can only be captured with proper fluidity by the camera upsidedown suggesting all this intimacy.
And that's why despite the controversial end, the feeling of leaving the exhibition hall of Tree of Life is such a rewarding experience. I am an atheist and yet I must say I felt astounded by the sequence on the beach, the reunion of the father, son, brother and mother, where every word is given, only a look just to fix any remorse. Believe you in the afterlife, heaven, god or whatever, it’s an inspiring representation. And as corny as it sounds, the words whispered in a given moment is timeless, "unless you love, your life will flash by", for every single moment that gives meaning to life.
