_To the Wonder_

[septimus_...@q.com]

How can anyone not nominate _To the Wonder_ as the
best film of the year after watching the first 30
ecstatic minutes of it?

The rest of the film is surprisingly downbeat --
perhaps surprising only because I read A.O. Scott's
review (something I usually avoid) and he rants on
and on about the actress dancing and whirling. In
fact, "days of heaven" is usually short in this film;
the fall from grace takes up a majority of it, followed
by a redemption which is tentative and short. (That's
always the way Malick's films are structured, except
for his first two which don't have the last act.)

Olga Kurylenko (sp) is no Jessica Chastain, but gives
her role a fitting gravity. Rachel McAdam isn't as
annoying as she can, while Ben Affleck's impassive
husband must be some sort of self-critique by Malick
(who has gone through a few divorces himself, I think).
The film is almost a "foreign" film -- most of the
voiceover is in French or Spanish.

I'll write more about this in the days and weeks to
come. For now, I am stunned at the small audience
it is attracting. Everyone should absolutely flock to
see it before its brief run ends!

[septimus_...@q.com]

Having seen _To the Wonder_ twice in a row I'll have to say
the entire film is beautiful beyond words. You really need
to see it once to get beyond the strangeness, and then you
realize it is the most perfect Malick film since _Days of
Heaven_. Not the greatest -- that title belongs unquestionable
to _The Tree of Life_. _To the Wonder_ is a smaller, more
compact and focused film. It is even psychologically most
astute, and I find the balance of the film emotionally more
accessible than the second half of _The Tree of Life_ simply
because the central character is a modern day adult, not a
child of American in the 1950s. Any serious moviegoer who
avoids this masterpiece is clearly out of his/her mind.
(I drove 120 miles roundtrip, twice, to the mostly empty
theater in Santa Fe. But I met one young person who did
exactly the same thing! There is hope for cinema yet.)

[septimus_...@q.com]

Having seen _To the Wonder_ 5 times now (it will
have to stay at 5 for a while, unfortunately)
I have no doubt it is one of the greatest films
of the decade, and one of Malick's most perfect
pieces of work. (Technically, I shouldn't put it
in my decade-best list, because _The Tree of Life_
is entrenched there and I used to keep it at one
auteur-per. But Malick is always one who defines
the rules.)

I am impressed at how low tech it is. The music
is apparently recorded at some high-school studio.
(Some highschool studios are incredibly good,
granted, but still.) Instead of Alexander Desplat,
the best composer in the business these days, whose
composition Malick largely ignores for _The Tree
of Life_, Hanan Townshends is contracted here. He
has done nothing but documentaries and short films
before! Sarah Green, Jack Fisk, and Emmanuel Lubezki
remains on the core team, as does one or two of the
editors, I'm sure. (Malick's wife gets anointed,
perhaps ironically, the "goodwill ambassador.")
I wish the actors whose scenes got cut had received
thanks as well (they include Rachel Weisz and
Jessica Chastain!).

I will actually attempt to write a comprehensive
"review" of this! It isn't possible for Malick's
last 3 films, which are simply too intimidating to
try and wrap one's arms around, but for this perfect
chamber piece I'll make a gallant try!

By the way, it is interesting that Kiarostami
and Malick, so often described as essentialists
who doesn't necessarily care about the contemporary
social context, both made films set in the
contemporary recently.