The Tree of Life

THE TREE OF LIFE (2011) - June 14, 2011
There is absolutely no mistaking this for anything but a Terrence Malick movie -- almost to the point of parody.  This is a movie in which every frame is a thing of beauty; certainly, when it comes to cinematography and pure mastery of the camera, Malick is one of the greats.  The film is somehow both epic and intimate, showing us the creation of the entire universe, and then settling down to focus on one American family in the 1950s.  It's completely non-narrative, with Malick's camera simply observing this family over the course of what seems to be approximately one summer.  There's something fascinatingly hypnotic about it; it almost reminds me of a much less dark variation on Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void.  Like that movie, there's something about it that keeps it oddly compelling all the way through despite the fact that, most of the time, very little is happening.  It's pretty enchanting.  ***1/2