I can write nothing on Heideggerian scholar*/(anti)Hollywood director Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life that hasn't been better written elsewhere. Even so, the film has just come available on DVD and digital download, so I thought I'd recommend it to anyone who has been interested in PEL's recent religion episodes. (Suggestion: try to watch the HD version of the clip.) If I had to try to connect the film's theme to recent topics, I'd call attention to Malick's ruminations on life's utterly contingent nature, and whether it suggests the presence or absence of God.
While the film isn't perfect (somebody please explain the ending!), a movie with existential dinosaurs beats a two-hour couch-warming session with another Transformers sequel. Trust me.
*I can't find a decent link, but Malick translated Heidegger's The Essence of Reasons for Northwestern University Press before he abandoned graduate study.
-Daniel Horne
Mr. Horne, not I. The ending is not explainable because there is not a narrative structure present -not much of a story- nor much of a plot that would enable anybody to explain it as it is. Like Life and the Universe itself, man. We must interpret it and it sucks.Whoah.
Nah, I’m being silly. They’re on the beach, it is the end of time? Okay. At least Penn has a nice designer suit to wear for Eternity. Sean Penn leaving his office, slight smirk on his face.. he made his peace with the Old Testament Father?? Obviously Malick did an extremely personal movie, whatever is going on he’d be the one to know in this case. I heard he’s going to release a 7 hour version, or something longer. So maybe answers will be revealed. The dinosaur compassion is truly Bizarre and I cannot believe he did that. What balls though.
Did you swing by Scanners, Jim Emerson’s blog. Jim Emerson is the man! Loads of resources out there like you allude to. “Did Sean Penn really pee on the Tree of Life?” I enjoyed:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2011/08/did_sean_penn_pee_on_the_tree_.html#more
Nice article, thanks!