I have been a passionate Terrence Malick fan for about two years now. I remember seeing The Thin Red Line years ago (when I was too young to really enjoy such a movie) and being strangely impacted by one particular scene (in which one of the main characters is killed after being surrounded by enemy forces in attempt to divert them from an injured solider). I never fully understood why that scene left such a deep impact until I rediscovered that particular film. Ever since I decided to give The Thin Red Line another shot, I was convinced that it was the work of one of the greatest directors who has ever lived. Soon after I re-watched The Thin Red Line, Malick's next film was just about ready to be released to the general public. I saw the Tree of Life at least a dozen times within a few months and was obsessed with the meanings, themes, and Malick’s creative choices as a filmmaker. Eventually I concluded that it was another masterpiece to add to Malick’s shockingly long and yet infrequent career (he has only directed six films in three decades. Badlands, Days of Heaven, the Thin Red Line, the New World, the Tree of Life, and To the Wonder). So whatever Malick decided to do next, and apparently he has at least 3 more films in production at the moment, I was looking forward to.
As it turns out, To the Wonder would be Malick’s next release. After its initial premier, I had read nothing but extremely mixed reviews (much more so than even the Tree of Life) and many had concluded that Malick had made his first critical blunder as a director. So obviously I had altered my expectations slightly before the release of To the Wonder (which I was able to rent digitally just a few days ago) in order to prepare for an inevitable feeling of disappointment.
I realized immediately after my first viewing that I had no reason to have doubts. Everything I had read about the movie had completely faded from my mind about 15 minutes into the movie and I was able to let the beauty of To the Wonder flood over me. I watched it again the next day as I felt one viewing was not nearly enough to be able to write about this movie. I have already written quite a bit here and haven’t really talked about the movie yet, so here we go. In my opinion, To the Wonder lives up to Malick’s name and reputation in ways that I will have a hard time explaining. After all, To the Wonder is easily his most difficult film to analyze and one that most people will find to be completely self-indulgent and nonsensical.
To the Wonder stars Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, and Rachel McAdams and is basically about a series of relationships that evolve over time. Man falls in love with girl, they are happy, they are sad, life happens, life goes on. Well, at least that’s the easy way to explain what this movie is “about”. Just like in The Tree of Life, Malick has moved far away from traditional narrative storytelling and has moved toward a style that is meant to represent emotions through visuals and soundscapes in order to get some sort of point across. There is very little dialogue outside of whispery voice overs and the occasional conversation. To the Wonder feels very spiritual and meditative and is not necessarily meant to be watched for the story, but rather to be watched to invoke feelings and thoughts within. To that end, this movie works beautifully if you are able to open your mind and let the images and sparsity of the film wash over you.
Emmanuel Lubezki is Malick’s cinematographer and this is without question his most gorgeous movie. The camera itself feels like a character, almost as if you are an unseen spirit moving through the actions by the wind or some invisible force. The locations and shot framings are unbelievably beautiful and left me feeling stunned and very small. Malick has an uncanny ability to make everything he shoots look gorgeous and awe-inspiring. Sunsets look glorious, running water is poetic, flowers are as complex as human faces, and even rural houses appear to be majestic in some way. To the Wonder can see the beauty in everything and isn’t afraid to show us. I never thought any movie could look more ravishing than the Tree of Life, but this movie has shown me otherwise.
So all of this is fine and dandy, but what do I expect that most people will think of To the Wonder? The movie is gorgeous both in visuals and sounds and yet the narrative is quite thin for a traditional film (although not as thin as I had thought going into the movie). For the vast majority of movie goers, that will be enough to completely turn them off from enjoying this movie. Some may even sit there and think “what the hell is this crap?” I won’t sit here and tell those people they are wrong or that they don’t “get” this movie, but for me (and a few others, I would imagine) everything here works. People who don’t enjoy a more “artistic” or experimental type of movie that plays with traditional conceptions of what a movie can be should steer clear of this, especially since it may be deceiving that a number of high profile actors are major players in the film. Think of To the Wonder like a poem or a painting. It may speak to you because of its aesthetics, or it may come across as boring and pretentious. Its not for everyone, nor does it pretend to be.
In my opinion, Terrence Malick is almost creating a new genre as he moves further and further away from narrative film and uses images and sounds to create a wave of emotions that has a lot to say about love, happiness, struggle, and passion. Do I really know the thematic “what” that To the Wonder is getting at? Not after only two viewings. I do have some ideas though. Much like the Tree of Life, To the Wonder is exploring the nature of love and spirituality in the human experience and how those things should be applied to everyday life. Love and how love’s importance in relationships is probably the most prominent theme in the film while there are several religious undertones as well (Javier Bardem’s character seems to be having a faith crisis). For the most part, To the Wonder is still mysterious and distant in meaning to me. Just because I didn’t completely understand the film does not mean that I found it insignificant.
To the Wonder was another perfect cinematic experience for me. Many people who read this review may see the movie and find it preposterous, and its hard for me to argue against that point. The thin narrative and dreamlike flow of events may prove to be impenetrable for many despite the appearance of many popular actors. I know I am in the vast minority on this one, but To the Wonder was everything I wanted from Malick and more. To the Wonder is another masterpiece that will become more popular as years pass. I applaud Malick’s dedication to his own work. He isn’t afraid to make a movie that most people are going to hate, because he’s making movies for himself and his own vision. Whether this is selfish or not is up to you. You certainly aren’t being forced to watch it.
10/10
NOTE
This film does have a limited theatrical release at the moment but is averrable to rent digitally through various services (such as Vudu).
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