Thank you for this meditation on myth and film! It brings me back to one of my favourite films, which I haven't seen for a long time, though I'd watched it several times. Mallick's cinematography is a rare sort of magic that blends poetry with narrative, cinema with theology and mythology. The sequence on the universe is simply fabulous and incredibly powerful. It struck me a long time ago that the single tree among the concrete buildings that trap one of the adult sons (played by Sean Penn, I think) was a rendition of the tree of life and a symbol of hope in life and grace set against the urban concrete jungle. What do you think?
Absolutely, I know the tree you're talking about. The urban setting is pretty bleak but there are seeds of hope, especially in the final shot of a bridge (to reconcile his present life, his childhood, and the new understanding which permeates both). Thanks for reading!
Thank you for this meditation on myth and film! It brings me back to one of my favourite films, which I haven't seen for a long time, though I'd watched it several times. Mallick's cinematography is a rare sort of magic that blends poetry with narrative, cinema with theology and mythology. The sequence on the universe is simply fabulous and incredibly powerful. It struck me a long time ago that the single tree among the concrete buildings that trap one of the adult sons (played by Sean Penn, I think) was a rendition of the tree of life and a symbol of hope in life and grace set against the urban concrete jungle. What do you think?
Absolutely, I know the tree you're talking about. The urban setting is pretty bleak but there are seeds of hope, especially in the final shot of a bridge (to reconcile his present life, his childhood, and the new understanding which permeates both). Thanks for reading!