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Tree of Life HOW-TO Guide on Youtube

For the less philosophically inclined

As Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," which opened in major cities at the end of last month, is getting ready for its nationwide rollout, a how-to featurette has been released by distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures in the hopes that it will help shepherd the meditative film across the dusty trails that await. Because in order for a movie to make money, as Mike Fleming of Deadline New York ... more >

The tree of life

Getting ultra-philosophical on the meaning of life
Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain
Directed by Terrence Malick

If Terrence Malick is a saint of cinema, then this is his holy lesson. Over a four-decade career, the mercurial American visionary has mastered absence and flowered a daunting mystery. After making one of the most impressive debuts in American film history, 1973’s "Badlands," he quit talking to the press. After the dreamy masterpiece "Days of Heaven" five years later, the perfectionist dipped a ... more >

Tree of life

Making sense of the unmakingsensable

For the last twelve months the film world rallied behind one unifying cause: seeing Terrence Malick's “The Tree of life” into a major film festival. Last year's failure to complete the film in time was deemed a disappointment by many and its absence, first from Cannes and then from Venice, was difficult to swallow.  And yet, even though I was myself disappointed, I couldn't help feeling a bit of ... more >

Terrence Malick’s ‘Tree of life’ mesmerizes Cannes

The 8:30am screening at the Cannes Festival is the most important one of the day, for a number of reasons. It's held in the Lumière Theatre, which sits over 2,200, it's early, and is bound to be attended by serious cinephiles and journalists (parties-bound festival-goers can't be expected to roll out of bed until about 11am and will try and catch Competition films later on in the day, if they make ... more >