10 Modern Movies That Will Be Viewed As Classics In Years To Come

2. To The Wonder (2013)

He'd had good reviews his entire career, and the critics were just waiting for Terrence Malick to slip up. After The Tree of Life received outstanding praise, followed by a swift backlash, Malick's next film - To the Wonder - was the one to receive the brunt of critics' frustrations. The work was certainly more experimental than anything Malick had done before - it's almost a silent movie, told through a flow of dazzling images - but was it deserving of Malick's first critical drubbing? Certainly not. In fact, the film is arguably a better movie than even The Tree of Life, and an encapsulation of everything Malick stands for as a filmmaker. The story of a romance between Neil (Ben Affleck) and Marina (Olga Kurylenko), as well as the trials of faith for Javier Bardem's Father Quintana, To the Wonder is spiritual, almost religious in its execution. It's Malick's first film set in the modern day, and his first that's strictly a romantic drama and nothing else; the director's focus is undeniable, his technique unquestionable. There's never been a bad-looking Terrence Malick film, but this one lives and dies by its visual storytelling, and recently Oscar-minted cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki shoots To the Wonder with an improvised vibrancy. As he finally does away with dialogue almost entirely and completely indulges his obsession with magic-hour scenery, To the Wonder is the most Terrence Malick film that Terrence Malick has ever made. It's only a matter of time before it's recognised as one of his most visionary.