Tree of Life

Since it's theatrical release, Eric has been wanted to see Tree of Life.  The film stars Jessica Chastain, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt.  Despite an impressive cast, this film has received polarized reviews.  There isn't really a story or linear dialogue.  Eric best described it as watching a poem.  He mentioned this before we started the movie and it really helped me.  There is a focal story of a boy and his family during the 1950's.  Sean Penn plays the boy as an adult.  The movie begins with the death of his brother and the film's narrative dialogue seems to revolve around life, death, dying and eternity.

This definitely isn't your typical film and scenes don't always follow each other.  One moment you're seeing a glimpse into the boy's life and the next you are watching images of the origins of the universe.  Aside from it's practically nonexistent storyline, the imagery is absolutely breathtaking.  Scenes in the ocean, of volcanoes, of the cosmos, in the forest are all beautiful.  If you don't mind not understanding a film, this one is worth watching.

Throughout the film, I felt like I was watching poetry.  And a lot of the dialogue is very poetic too.  Oh, and the music.  The music was simple incredible.  There was so much emotion in most of the music, which definitely enhanced the poetic feeling of the film.

It's a movie that can really get a discussion going between those who have seen it.  I have my own ideas about some of it's meanings and have probably interpreted it differently than anyone else.  But this film is probably not best for the occasional movie-goer who primarily sees the box office hits.  If you enjoy odd, obscure or just different films, you may like it.  Or you may not.  It's definitely one that you either love or hate, there's really no landing in between.