The author Monica Drake sent me this little pic:

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I just can’t get over the fact that it’s called The Tree of Life. There is no way around this title for me. I can’t crawl under it; can’t climb over it. It blocks the entire work. I begin and end with this obnoxious wall of a title.

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...

24 replies on “Warning You About The Tree of Life”

  2. At least you will admit it that your subjective, preconceived notion about a phrase makes you the enemy of the entire work.

    Book by its cover, much??

  3. Is that sign like a pre-emptive apology if you don’t like the film?

    If someone doesn’t like it, who gives a shit? You can’t please everyone all the time. Don’t apologize for art… that defeats the whole purpose of art.

  4. Charles…that this film has inspired so much contemplation on your part says something, right? So, I’m going to see it tonight. I may agree with you, but the act of seeing something that has inspired this level of consternation should aid in our ongoing discussions.

  5. @3 Maybe it’s their way of snidely saying “Only a philistine asks for a refund!”

    Seriously, unless the performance doesn’t actually occur, who the fuck asks for a refund on arts & entertainment?

  7. Charles: Tell you what. I’ll buy you a ticket myself. Though your resistance reminds me a little bit of the “principled” stand I took to never see the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

    Love that note. It might as well be addressed “Hey dumbasses”.

  9. Charles,
    Indeed, I propose buying you a ticket AND viewing the film with you. It is a win-win situation for you. You can blaze away if you don’t like the film. It simply isn’t logical to heavily criticize something one hasn’t seen or read. I had a brew with a good friend last night, a communist & atheist who saw the movie. When I asked him if he enjoyed “The Tree of Life”, he remarked “It’s incredible. It blew me away.” Charles, this film won the Palm d’Or at Cannes. I’ve yet to read a negative review of it. I believe Malick an American master film maker. Really, you should see it and then comment.

  11. Most people don’t realise it but you can get usually get a refund for a movie ticket as long as its withint 30 mins. Regrettably, I’ve only used it once though..

  12. I’m with you on this, Charles. I’m interested in the film, but I’m repelled by the title. It screams Judeo-Christian, new-agey self-importance. I tend to like Malick’s films because of their new-agey self-important, mystical bull-shittery; that’s what Malick does well. But yes, the title of this one leaves little room for wonder about its content.

  13. Congratulations, Charles: You share the moviegoing tastes and film preferences of Scottsdale’s most geriatric rubes and philistines! How proud you must be.

  14. Charles, I do wish you’d see this movie only because if it deserves evisceration, you would be the one to do it (my second choice would be Lindy, natch). That said, I won’t ask you to go, because I won’t go myself, based on the very same reason: the title portends a bad, bad movie. It didn’t help that I was so bored by the trailer I couldn’t finish watching it.

    I realize this is a matter of taste. Here’s a test that works for me: compare the first paragraph of Ebert’s review of Tree of Life with that of Last Year at Marienbad:

    Tree of Life:

    Terrence Malick’s new film is a form of prayer. It created within me a spiritual awareness, and made me more alert to the awe of existence. I believe it stands free from conventional theologies, although at its end it has images that will evoke them for some people. It functions to pull us back from the distractions of the moment, and focus us on mystery and gratitude.

    Last Year at Marienbad:

    How clearly I recall standing in the rain outside the Co-Ed Theater near the campus of the University of Illinois, waiting to see “Last Year at Marienbad.” On those lonely sidewalks, in that endless night, how long did we wait there? And was it the first time we waited in that line, to enter the old theater with its columns, its aisles, its rows of seats–or did we see the same film here last year?

    See what that reveals? That’s why I won’t go see Tree of Life.

  16. You are just the worst, Charles. Bad enough that you are an agressively narcissistic, pretententious trust-fund writer. Your need to insert yourself into every story, even though you are the least interesting character, the pathological intellectual insecurity that provokes your incessant name-dropping of philosophers in a desperate attempt to be thought intelligent, but gives all the opposite impression.. being proud of judging and critiquing a work you know nothing about, that you haven’t seen, just takes you to the next level of obnoxiousness. Everyone I know skips any article you write- is there anyone in the city besides Dan Savage that thinks you can write?

  17. Malick made The Thin Red Line.

    So he gets a pass from me on his wishy-washy pseudo-philosophical bullshit.

    I mean, how is that any different than basically the ENTIRE French New Wave?

    Or any Philosophy department in the history of the world?

    He’s got one hell of an amazing photographer’s eye, and he sure as hell is a better director than Spielberg.

  21. …..and that is why I’ve stopped reading your posts, CM*. Your total lack of intellectual honesty.

    *yes, I read this one. but it was short, and on topic.

  24. Are you trying out for the Onion or doing performance art with these TOL blogs? Brilliant in that you understand the nuances of the Malick fan. Coping with narcissism. Oh snap, you didn’t watch the film? Coping with narcissism.

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