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To the Wonder review
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A good movie

Even though this movie was one of my top priorities in 2012, I actually missed it somehow when it was finally released in the Netherlands in August 2013. Fortunately, only a few months later, I managed to find a rather cheap DVD online (only 5 euros) so now I can say I have seen all the movies directed by Terrence Malick. To be honest, it was rather a tough watch which was expected from Malick but also, unfortunately, his least satisfying feature so far. It seems that, with each new features, he goes more and more autobiographical on us (Malick lived in France for more than a decade and was married with a French women then left her, went back to the USA and reconnected to a former high school sweetheart to whom he is still married today). So, the whole thing meant a lot to him, that’s for sure, but to the viewer, it was a rather difficult task to connect with these characters. Basically, the main character falls in love with a girl, then it goes bad, then he falls in love with another girl, then it goes bad, then he gets back with the first girl but, this time again, it ends bad as well. Throw in a couple of random scenes involving a priest very well played by Javier Bardem and then you have the whole film. Concerning Ben Affleck, you have to give the guy some credit to go from ‘Armageddon’ to this and even though he was the main character, he had a rather thankless task. I mean, during the whole thing, he is some kind of mute and emotionless statue and I kept wondering if another guy wouldn’t have been better for the job. Bardem didn’t have much to do either but his body language was much more expressive even under such limitations. Concerning Rachel McAdams, I really wonder why her character was even added. I mean, this fling just lasted about 20 minutes at most and it could have been removed without anyone noticing. Eventually, Olga Kurylenko provided the best performance in this movie, which was rather unexpected from a former Bond girl who hasn’t done anything really amazing ever since. I know, I make it sounds as if it was pretty bad but it wasn’t, it did like this film. I mean, as usual with Malick, the whole thing was a wonder to watch, especially the opening at the Mont St Michel, there were then hundreds of amazing shots, something only Malick can do and those voice-overs, another Malick trademark, were quite mesmerizing. To conclude, even though the whole thing tends to be terribly alienating, I still liked it because it is so different than any standard movie, this director has basically created his own cinematic language and therefore I still enjoyed the damned thing and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Terrence Malick’s work.

7/10
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Added by johanlefourbe
10 years ago on 21 October 2013 21:36

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