Movie Review - Tree of Life (9/10)

An Enjoyable Ride for me, Certainly not for Everyone
Originally posted on 21 October 2011 on imdb.com

 The prerequisite of granting "The Tree of Life" a proper rating is the initial recognition of this as a movie. If I am to say this is a highly kaleidoscopic and sophisticated art piece, I bet most of you will nod. Nevertheless, not many will agree to this being a film to be shown in the cinema.

I am in no position to judge nor to logically refute the different points of views of others, but I would ask this: Who are we to determine the definition of "movies"? This is certainly a movie out the ordinary "boundary" of movie making. The main concern is the long length which may make the movie a bit tedious for some. Another concern is the "unnecessary" inserted section of the Discovery Channel. But is it really unnecessary? Well, I honestly do not know. But I personally have no problem with that, though I have no idea what the purpose is and why it needs to last almost 15 minutes.

If you view this as a film, the plot is quite good. It is about a young boy losing his innocence and it also discusses our attitudes towards life. Christian overtones are spread throughout, and at the very beginning of the film, it is stated that a man has two ways through life, which are the way of nature and the way of grace. Frankly speaking, I find this to be quite deep and I do not really fully understand the concept of this, let alone comprehend the whole point or the ultimate message of this picture.

The plot alone is sufficient to make this an excellent movie. I certainly fail to understand it fully. I simply do not see the point of load of things in the movie, and I believe many of you feel the same way. I don't know if it is the director's intention to make us leave the cinema with all these never-to-be-answered mysteries or is it just me that fails to understand what the hidden message is. Or maybe there just isn't any. Maybe it wants us to think whatever we want to think and learn whatever we can learn. Either way, for now, I will see this film as a little combination of arts and a drama with a good story.