BoyActors Forum - Terrence Malick's Tree of Life

BoyActors Forum › General Discussion & News › General Discussion › Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good

Guest Message

Hi there Guest,

It looks like you are enjoying reading our forum, so why don't you register an account with us to stop seeing this message and benefit from many more features. Registration is easy and will only take you a few minutes.

If you already have an account with us, then click here to log in.

Thank you,

The BoyActors Forum Team

(Moderators: Quantum, Bijou, hosenhaus, YoungArthur, Zabladowski)

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

Pages: [1] 2

Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good (Read 9,058 times)

josephk Platinum Member Offline Posts: 3,981 Location: Canada Joined: 01. Apr 2002	Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good 17. Dec 2010 at 15:24	Print Post
	Trailer here: (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) With these boys: (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) Terrence Malick's description of the film: We trace the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, Jack, one of three brothers. At first all seems marvelous to the child. He sees as his mother does with the eyes of his soul. She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world’s way of putting oneself first. Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death. The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth. From this story is that of adult Jack, a lost soul in a modern world, seeking to discover amid the changing scenes of time that which does not change: the eternal scheme of which we are a part. When he sees all that has gone into our world’s preparation, each thing appears a miracle—precious, incomparable. Jack, with his new understanding, is able to forgive his father and take his first steps on the path of life. The story ends in hope, acknowledging the beauty and joy in all things, in the everyday and above all in the family—our first school—the only place that most of us learn the truth about the world and ourselves, or discover life’s single most important lesson, of unselfish love


	IP Logged

josephk Platinum Member Offline Posts: 3,981 Location: Canada Joined: 01. Apr 2002	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #1 - 19. Dec 2010 at 01:04	Print Post
	Hmm. Oddly enough, I seem to be the only one who's interested in this movie. Maybe these will help? (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links) (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links)


	IP Logged

josephk Platinum Member Offline Posts: 3,981 Location: Canada Joined: 01. Apr 2002	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #2 - 19. Dec 2010 at 01:16	Print Post
	I'm having a really hard time figuring out who these boys are, by the way. The three actors whose profiles on IMDb I linked to in my first post are all minor characters. As far as I can tell, the actors who play the three brothers seen in the trailer and in the above screen caps are not listed on the IMDb profile for the film yet. Several websites report that the actor who plays the eldest son (Jack, who is later played by Sean Penn as an adult) is called Hunter McCracken. He seems to be a newcomer, since I can't find any information about him. Still have no idea who the other two boys are.


	IP Logged

YoungArthur BA Moderator Offline Hagrid's Helper Posts: 1,914 Joined: 09. May 2003 Gender:	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #3 - 19. Dec 2010 at 08:14	Print Post
	I should have commented on your first post, but all I have to say is "It looks interesting and I hope to see it." I just felt that was a very predictable comment for me. Malick appears to choose his projects very slowly and carefully, as they are few and far between. I thought 'The New World' was very good.


	IP Logged

josephk Platinum Member Offline Posts: 3,981 Location: Canada Joined: 01. Apr 2002	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #4 - 19. Dec 2010 at 17:50	Print Post
	Don't worry about it. The lack of immediate response inspired me to do all those screen caps, which I'm glad I did. The New World I thought was okay. The Thin Red Line was brilliant. Malick has a unique style of visual poetry that I find very moving. Fans of George Washington and Undertow, by David Gordon Green, should check this one out. Green was heavily influenced by Malick and tried to emulate his style, but I don't think his screenplays are anywhere near as good.


	IP Logged

cal-Q-L8 Platinum Member Offline Admin Posts: 8,002 Location: Australia Joined: 30. Oct 2001 Gender:	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #5 - 27. Dec 2010 at 15:48	Print Post
	This is my third atempt to respond this thread. Forum is timing out on me. I like Malick's films and am looking forward to this one. Trailer looks beautiful. Thanks for the very nice caps Joseph. Seasons greetings to all.


	IP Logged

gee Platinum Member Offline BA Member Posts: 1,127 Joined: 22. Oct 2003 Gender:	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #6 - 28. Dec 2010 at 05:06	Print Post
	the one kid in the caps looks a bit like Cameron Bright


	IP Logged

josephk Platinum Member Offline Posts: 3,981 Location: Canada Joined: 01. Apr 2002	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #7 - 19. Jun 2011 at 04:12	Print Post
	Finally saw this tonight. I gave it a 10/10 on IMDb. It's a masterpiece. Be warned, though. This is the most experimental of Malick's films that I've seen. If you go into it expecting a straightforward narrative, you will probably be disappointed. Some people in the theatre didn't make it all the way to the end and walked out wondering what they had gotten themselves into. There are LONG sequences that show the birth of the universe, the formating of our solar system and planet, the emergence of life, dinosaurs. There's also a very spiritual/religious tone to the whole film, which personally didn't bother me but I know some people respond very negatively to this sort of thing. If you have an open mind about this kind of filmmaking, this is a wonderful movie about childhood, family, and the complexity of inner life and memory. It's one of the most evocative representations of childhood and coming of age that I've ever seen. The three boys are beautiful and a pleasure to watch. And by the way, I finally figured out their names. Hunter McCracken is the eldest, followed by Laramie Eppler and Tye Sheridan. This is a debut performance for all three of them. Hunter has the most screen time and is the protagonist of the film, but Laramie was my favourite. Here they are at the premiere. They look much older than they are in the film, because of how long it took to edit the film after it was shot. (You need to *Login* or *Register* to view media files and links)


	IP Logged

Nérodiaman Platinum Member Offline BA Member Posts: 2,479 Location: France Joined: 21. May 2010 Gender:	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #8 - 19. Jun 2011 at 09:59	Print Post
	I saw this movie with pleasure the other day and I very liked the play of Hunter McCRACKEN in part of young Jack. My movie rating is of 9/10 !


	IP Logged

josephk Platinum Member Offline Posts: 3,981 Location: Canada Joined: 01. Apr 2002	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #9 - 01. Jul 2011 at 18:44	Print Post
	I went to see Tree of Life a second time, because I couldn't stop thinking about it. If tickets weren't so expensive, I think I would go see it several more times before it's out of theatres. Here's an excerpt from an interview with Jessica Chastain (who plays the mother in the film) where she talks about what it was like to work with the boys: Quote: And I’m with the boys because they had a long audition process. They went through so many, so many boys. And then, toward the end they brought me out to interact and improv with the kids and see who could really like, think quick. And I remember Tye [Sheridan] and Laramie [Eppler] and Hunter [McCracken] were just phenomenal. There was something with Hunter. When I was first talking to him he was kind of a bit surly, you know. He had this thing where he was like, “Oh, I don’t care about this. I don’t care about Hollywood. I don’t care, I want I dirt bike.” I think that’s… “I only wanna do it so I can have a dirt bike.” So he had this thing of just not trying to impress anyone. And so we started improving and he was really quick which was really exciting for me because it meant that he would give me things to act off of. And then there were also moments of, there were really sweet moments where we were wondering, “Can he be soft?” We know he can be that kind of, you know, contrary character, but there was a moment where we’re all together and I thought well, I’m going to see now how he is. And we’re sitting together, me and the other kids and I kind of just put my arm around him and started just, like, touching his hair and you could see in the video that he’s this tough guy and then all of the sudden he just went, his face, his eyes opened up and he just kind of leaned into me like I guess an animal would do, a little dog. It was so sweet. I have great love for those boys and I think – I’m sorry, I’m going off on a tangent – and they weren’t given the script because it was always about creating for them. [Malick] didn’t want to see child actors, he wanted to see them be the boys that they really were. Full interview's here: Code http://collider.com/jessica-chastain-interview-tree-of-life/93397/


	IP Logged

hosenhaus BA Moderator Offline spheroid Posts: 4,503 Joined: 30. Oct 2001 Gender:	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #10 - 01. Jul 2011 at 20:08	Print Post
	Opens (wide) in US on July 8, one week from today!


	IP Logged

Cinefan Platinum Member Offline BA Member Posts: 1,116 Location: Britain Joined: 19. Nov 2009 Gender:	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #11 - 01. Jul 2011 at 20:12	Print Post
	This is the sort of film I shall look out for on DVD. It appears to be what I call a 'semi-boy film' that is one where boy actors play some guy when he was young but then disappear from the film about a third of the way through. 'Undertow' with Jamie Bell and Devon Alan was a good movie.


	IP Logged

josephk Platinum Member Offline Posts: 3,981 Location: Canada Joined: 01. Apr 2002	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #12 - 02. Jul 2011 at 00:07	Print Post
	Cinefan wrote on 01. Jul 2011 at 20:12: This is the sort of film I shall look out for on DVD. It appears to be what I call a 'semi-boy film' that is one where boy actors play some guy when he was young but then disappear from the film about a third of the way through. 'Undertow' with Jamie Bell and Devon Alan was a good movie. That is not the case at all. The boys have way more screen time than any of the adult actors in the film. Sean Penn (who plays the adult version of the character of Jack) is barely in it. Maybe 10 minutes of screen time in total. There is one long sequence near the beginning that involves the birth and evolution of the universe, from the big bang, through the formation of our solar system and planet, beginning of life, dinosaurs, extinction, etc. It takes up a full reel, during which the boys are not featured. But otherwise, the boys are the focus of the film the whole way through. And it's the most remarkable and stunning portrayal of childhood I've ever seen in a film in my life. I'm not kidding when I say that I could literally not get it out of my head and had to go see it again. I'm considering catching it a third time in theatres before it goes away. And I'll probably also buy it on DVD when it's released. It's a very challenging film and at both screenings I attended people walked out (especially during the "evolution" sequence), so I'm not saying everybody will love it. But if the only reason you're considering not seeing it in theatres is that you don't think the boys get enough screen time, you are mistaken.


	IP Logged

YoungArthur BA Moderator Offline Hagrid's Helper Posts: 1,914 Joined: 09. May 2003 Gender:	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #13 - 04. Jul 2011 at 01:13	Print Post
	And it's the most remarkable and stunning portrayal of childhood I've ever seen in a film in my life. That's enough recommendation for me. Thank you, JosephK.


	IP Logged

josephk Platinum Member Offline Posts: 3,981 Location: Canada Joined: 01. Apr 2002	Re: Terrence Malick's Tree of Life - looks really good Reply #14 - 04. Jul 2011 at 01:27	Print Post
	I'm prone to hyperbole. But I think I might actually not be exaggerating (much) this time.


	IP Logged

Pages: [1] 2

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›