10 Outstandingly Beautiful Cinematic Single Frames

In a film made almost entirely of images and singular experiences, this is a stand out frame from Terrence Malick and his DP, Emmanuel Lubezki (who has crafted shots with the Coens, Iñárritu and Cuarón).

No matter how you feel about The Tree of Life - and opinions on this film are colourful and varied - there is no denying the pure visual appeal of it. Quite simply, it has pieces of cinematography that would not look out of place in a gallery, and one of the best is perhaps the film's most pervasive image: the vision of Jack's mother in partial silhouette against a sun mired in clouds on a high horizon, casting a long shadow back towards a low, racing camera.

The sense of space and delicate details are what drive the image's aesthetic appeal, but these are only made possible by a fairly simple palette of blue and white, using shadows and light to create the frame's contrast and texture.

This is an image of such cinematic penetration and beauty that it even made the cover of the Criterion Collection edition of the film; a high honour indeed.