The Tree of Life

POSTED BY: ecgordon
UPDATED: Sunday, October 23, 2011 05:21
VIEWED: 7125
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ECGORDON

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 3:48 AM

The recent Palme d'Or winner at Cannes, Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life opened in Europe in mid-May, premiered in NY and LA on May 27. June 3 saw a few other cities get it, more to come in the next few weeks. It will go wide on July 8. I am recommending it unreservedly, even though I am aware not 1 out of 100 movie-goers will care for it, and those that do probably not near as much as I loved it. I drove 100 miles to see it Saturday and it was worth it. My site is focused on science fiction, fantasy and horror, I hate the "sci-fi" nickname, and most of the time I prefer that SF stands for speculative fiction. In that case, Tree of Life fits the bill.

Considering my site is nearly eleven years old, I'm not sure why I haven't linked to more of my pages over the years. This is one I want everyone to see, so click this to read my [url=" http://templetongate.net/treeoflife.htm"]REVIEW[/url].

ECGORDON

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 3:50 AM

I still can't edit a post, and that link is wrong. Should be http://templetongate.net/treeoflife.htm

DREAMTROVE

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 6:15 PM

are you signed in first?

I personally like the name Sci-fi. It lacks pretention.

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

ECGORDON

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 11:04 PM

It's just one of my pet peeves.

Sci-Fi can mean so many different things to different people. Most won't accept the term unless it is specifically science fiction, and preferably space-based science fiction. Others use it to include quasi-fantasy shows like Warehouse 13 or Haven. Forrest Ackerman came up with the term, at the time Hi-Fi was in general use, and his main claim to fame is as the publisher of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, mostly about horror. What do you think sci-fi means? Apparently it depends on who you ask.

It may be elitist, but I am among a group of oldies who don't like the term, pronounce it skiffy, and generally use it for things we think are less than the best those genres have to offer. For instance, 2001: A Space Odyssey is Science Fiction, or SF, whichever, in big capital letters. Transformers is skiffy.

Speculative fiction can include science fiction, fantasy, supernatural horror, alternate history, superhero comics and novels, even metaphysics. That's why The Tree of Life fits into the category and I felt it appropriate to review for my site.

http://templetongate.net

DREAMTROVE

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 11:59 PM

my sister is the same way.

Huh. I didn't know that about Forrest Ackerman, but in his day it was generally printed in pulp fiction magazines, and yet that stuff was more contemplative and original than much of the stuff today, and not just the transformers.

Remember also, you're on a fan site for a tv show, one whose premise was stolen from anime, and almost all the episode stories, or maybe all of them, taken from various short stories (joss is very fond of lifting, as is tv in general, but to thihs he said "Everything I do is derivative." it's not original and not that contemplative (i mean, we know all the ideas in this show have been contemplated in science fiction before) it's basically cowboys in space.

I havent written anything for a while. My stuff is generally very social sf, not space based, and tries to stick to the "what if"

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

ECGORDON

Thursday, June 9, 2011 1:06 AM

What I should have mentioned in my first post here, but did in the review, is that the Internet Movie Database has Drama and Sci-Fi listed for The Tree of Life's genres. I don't care how you want to define sci-fi, I don't think anyone's definition of it would fit the movie at all. Speculative fiction does.

DREAMTROVE

Thursday, June 9, 2011 2:52 AM

what i didnt get from your review is what the movie is like. Maybe it would be easier to say "if you liked this movie, you also might like."

Some things come to mind, but they're radically different from one another. Eternal Sunshine.., which I was very "meh" on, What Dream May Come, which was probably sub-meh, the Quiet Earth, which i really liked, Butterfly Effect, which was better than meh, but wasn't the Quiet Earth.

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

ECGORDON

Thursday, June 9, 2011 11:24 AM

It's not really like any of those movies you mention, in fact it is not very much like any other movie I've ever seen.

However, I did call it dreamlike, non-linear, and full of flashbacks. I also said it was "a cross between 2001: A Space Odyssey and the "Rite of Spring" segment of Fantasia, mixed with some esoteric opera that you know is significant if only you could understand the language."

Wait until you see the movie and then you tell me what other movie you would compare it with, okay?

SHINYGOODGUY

Sunday, June 12, 2011 11:32 PM

EC, you make some interesting points throughout this thread regarding sci-fi, skiffy and speculative fiction. Perhaps speculative fiction will catch on someday, but nonetheless it is interesting. That film is next on my list of must-sees this summer, I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it. And, you are probably right about some folk may not appreciate it for what it is - Terrence Malick is an acquired taste. Have you ever seen Days of Heaven? I will see it and get back to you.

SGG

A filmmaker has almost the same freedom as a novelist has when he buys himself some paper. - Stanley Kubrick

ECGORDON

Sunday, June 12, 2011 11:52 PM

Yes, I love Days of Heaven, and up until this point it was my favorite of Malick's films. I've had various versions of the movie on tape and disc over the years, and currently have the Criterion Collection Blu-Ray.

Speculative Fiction as a designation for genre stuff is not new with me. Writers as disparate as Robert Heinlein and Harlan Ellison preferred it over science fiction.

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