The Tree Of Life

No more fan-made fake montages; today sees the Internet debut of the actual trailer for Terrence Malick’s The Tree Of Life in all of its luxurious, portentous, thoroughly Malick-y glory. Primarily a 1950s period piece, The Tree Of Life is both thematically rich and completely ordinary, following an 11-year-old boy whose upbringing is influenced equally by the tough love of his father (Brad Pitt) and the protectiveness of his mother (Jessica Chastain), and who eventually grows up to be a sad-faced Sean Penn—described by Malick as “a lost soul in a modern world.” Intercut with the human drama are Malick’s usual sumptuous nature visuals—lingering shots of crashing waves and sunlight playing through the treetops—which this time include some rather fantastical footage of spinning galaxies and exploding solar flares, hammering home the “everything is a miracle” theme that Insane Clown Posse posited and which Malick now aims to further articulate.