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Without wanting to sound arrogant, I have not yet come across a solid argumentation against the film, one that goes beyond the personal issues one might have (related with aesthetics/religious content) or to our incomplete/unsatisfactory understanding of the narrative.

The absence of such sustained argumentation has simply made me embrace the awesome power of this film, and move on to a deeper understanding of TM’s work. I believe this is one of those rare films that inscribes itself in film history in the moment of its release.
I have therefore engaged in a very satisfactory (and pleasant, at least personally) study of TM’s films, and cannot stop the amazement of seeing how solid his “search” has been, from his early “Days of Heaven” (1973), “Badlands” (1978) up to a more recent “The Thin Red Line” (1998). See, to me “The Tree of Life” is not a mere accident (either positive or negative) but the ultimate result of TM’s life and work.

TM’s films go beyond the apparent simplicity or mere lyricism. They go beyond quick fixed judgements and rejections that critics and scholars sometimes shoot. To me it represents a contemporary trend of independent cinema, one where directors pursue unique aesthetics through embodied aspects of our perception. This is what interests me, and it is why, in my PhD thesis, I am looking at TM’s films from a proprioceptive point of view.

I believe this film, and TM’s work, will worth and speak for itself in the future, and it will probably be looked with more consideration, but in the meantime, it does seem strangely necessary to defend it.

Luis Rocha-Antunes

When I finally was able to see the film, I loved it. The sheer beauty of the images did not disappoint. And perhaps my experience was a bit atypical, since I found the movie extremely nostalgic, to the point that I recognized several locations used in the movie. In addition to real places that I had been, there was the sense of place and time represented by a small Texas community in the 50s. My own experience was during the 60s, but I can tell you that not much had changed in the small towns where my grandparents lived, making this movie one that I found very familiar.

I found the whole project very lovingly executed and, yes, ambitious; however, like you, I wanted to applaud Malick for his boldness of vision. There were about 10 people in the theater when I saw the film; by the end, there were about 5 or 6 left. I wondered if some had not come merely to laugh, because they stayed only about 30 minutes into the movie before giving up on it.

I would love to talk more about the film. Thanks for your thoughtful “defense.”

I felt myself fooled, and looked to the projeciontist asking for the next minutes of film!