2. The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick's masterpiece, The Tree of Life left audiences feeling one of two feelings. Either you were overwhelmed by the beautiful and existential family drama or you were bored by its lack of narrative and pretentiousness. Much of the film community did embrace Malick's very personal film as it was awarded the Palme D'Or and a host of Oscar nominations, but those who hated it, and there are many, really hated it. It's a fundamentally Christian film that has much to say about life after death, virtues, morality and family, but to some, the pace of the film is meandering and it's just an incoherent, rambling mess. Even star, Sean Penn was at a loss as to what some of the movie was supposed to mean, and he wasn't the only one. There's the old adage that what you take into a movie is what you'll get out of it, and that is never more applicable than to The Tree of Life. If you want to be consumed by something and have it question belief then it's perfect, but if you want to see something traditional then you're going to reject this picture.