The lights are out; the theatre is dark. As everyone stares impatiently, elaborate cinematic scenes flash on the screen, switching frequently but gracefully. The audience does not know why this is happening, or what all of this imagery is supposed to mean, but it sure is fancy. This movie, my friends, is called The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt. I was absolutely dumbfounded when I found out that the film had been playing for about an hour. "An hour of nothing," I thought. The IMDB synopsis that I read was far from detailed, further supporting my point. But the time sure went by fast.
From the very beginning of this film, it was clear that it was going to have a pronounced emotional depth. There was not a single second in which I didn't feel anything emotionally, nor were there long periods of boredom. I kept watching and waiting, anticipating something to happen. Where's the storyline? Never before had I watched anything like this, and while some students were clearly agitated at the nontraditional, artsy approach to filmmaking, I sat there completely intrigued. It felt almost like an art gallery, but with video instead of stills. Having worked with cinematography quite a few times in my senior year, I continued to wonder how all of the dramatic shots were achieved. A significant portion is undeniably CGI - it looks too vibrant and perfect to be real (how should I know, I've never seen outer space in person?) but regardless of the methods used to produce everything, the result is beautiful. It must've taken quite some time to pull this off. Oh, and did I mention the poetic language? It was abstract, much like the imagery, only increasing the dramatic, emotional feel to this film. It was as if I was travelling the whole time, from hot, fiery volcanoes, to outer space, to New York City. It felt as though the entire world was represented somehow, somewhere throughout the movie.
Now comes the big question: did I actually like what I saw? Well, the answer is yes. It took me a while to come to this decision, but I genuinely did enjoy it. I felt something the whole time, but I honestly have no idea what. Either way - whatever it was - it was great. So far, I would highly recommend this film to anyone and everyone. If you're tired of typical moving pictures, check this one out. Be patient, and you probably won't regret it.
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