I just watched the Tree of Life, a documentary by Terrence Malick about the universe and Waco, TX.
Is it a good movie? I don’t know. I enjoyed watching it and I ended up giving it 4 stars on Netflix. But I don’t think I would ever watch it again, unless I’m trying to impress someone. There’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (which I’ve seen a few times), and then there’s Tree of Life.
If the Tree of Life wasn’t so beautiful to watch, I would’ve lost interest quickly. The non-linear narrative really hurts comprehension. But if it was more straightforward would we get all of the milk drop visualizations of the universe forming?
I could sort of understand what Malick was trying to get across about life, the universe and everything, but don’t expect me to write a book report about it. But if I had to, it would be one sentence:
The Tree of Life is a big swirl of life, visuals, and classical music.
Overall, would I recommend it to someone? It depends. I would give a little warning that it may not be the easiest movie to watch, but it is visually arresting and it is probably going to be part of our pop culture for years to come.