Thoughts on The Tree of Life (2011)

Malick presents us life as an unfathomable expanse and offers us a perspective to assess it by;

life through the lens of human experience and values as separate from the unflinching forward march of natural existence, i.e grace vs nature as larger than life concepts to navigate and make sense of it all. yet the essence of this perspective morphs along with the earth's growth to occupy everything that exists within it: prehistoric creatures exhibit mercy, human-made constructs become forces of nature, grace and nature intertwine and become one and the same

Malick's exploration of the complex wholeness of life takes us from the formation of the earth's crust to the microcosm of a family, mother grace and father nature bear child and give a face to their respective qualities. shots are dreamlike and spliced, sifting through the memories of the world at first with innocence and fascination, but then a strangeness sets in. the wide-eyed children of grace and nature are tempered in the warring states of their being, their senses of self sway as malice and lust introduce themselves wryly in their peripherals.

From a theological perspective, we are all creatures abiding by god's grace and existing in the goodness of his creation. But are we really? Are we ascribing meaning to things as and when we please, asking for something from someone that isn't really there? Or is it just that we cannot comprehend the vastness of his ways? We gladly attribute triumph to "the good grace of God", then dismiss tragedy with a murmur of "God works in mysterious ways." The frankness with which Malick chooses to explore religious questioning has stuck with me like few other things have. I think, on many a night to come, when the air is still and the night is silent, I shall lay awake in my bed and think about this movie.

We run before the wind, we think that it will carry us forever. It will not. We vanish as a cloud, we wither as the autumn grass. And like a tree, are rooted up.

Originally posted on 22 September 2024