I have to be honest, I struggled a great deal with
Terrence Malick's fantastical but hollow
Tree of Life - a film that I believe got away from the paranoid director years ago and in his quest for the meaning of life, he forgot that the fundamental idea of a film is to keep the audience engaged and not to bore them. And not to relentlessly hammer home the same individual point in every single scene. After toying with his footage in post-production for 14 decades, Tree of Life finally opens in L.A. and New York this week but I'm warning you now, it's a tough slog. A movie that whilst it will dazzle you in places will leave you dumbfounded in bewilderment in others. You can read my review
HERE. But discussion here is reserved for Malick's next film, which thankfully we don't have to wait another several years to see. Unless of course Malick indulges himself in the editing room again. The
L.A. Times reports that principal photography and additional re-shoots have all now been completed on his next venture which in some circles is going by the title
The Burial, a drama that stars
Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Barry Pepper and
Jessica Chastain. Although very little is known about the movie and everything we do know is probably inaccurate, there is one line of quote from an apparent insider in the L.A. Times piece that is sure to raise some eyebrows as it's said that The Burial 'by one account
is even more experimental than Tree of Life.' It's a vague, throwaway line in the piece but one that we can't help but consider it's meaning. Malick has already used his Tree of Life to explore existential questions about the meaning of life and the search for God but we had expected his next film, perhaps for how quickly it all came together, to be something less expansive. But then again anything is possible for Malick. Meanwhile, producer
Bill Pohlad, presumably speaking on Terrence Malick's behalf, reveals that there is still no date yet for the IMAX documentary
Voyage of Time - which is basically a two hour extended version of the insane twenty minute montage of images in Tree of Life that will alienate 99% of moviegoers. They say;
Voyage of Time will be narrated by Tree of Life star Brad Pitt and display the whole of time, from the birth of the universe to its final collapse, according to a confidential outline for the film obtained by The Times. A team of more than 20 advisors will ensure the film is both aesthetically unique and scientifically accurate. According to a treatment for the documentary, Voyage of Time will cover the first signs of life, bacteria, cellular pioneers, first love, consciousness, the ascent of humanity, life and death and the end of the universe.
Endorsements for the documentary have come from luminaries
Francis Ford Coppola,
Martin Scorsese and
Steven Spielberg and we are told it will be a memorable combination of art and science that will inspire as well as educate.