Job and St. Augustine in one film: The Tree of Life (2011)

By Thomas Mirus and James Majewski ( bio - articles - email ) | Nov 15, 2024 | In Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast

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The Tree of Life may well be the greatest movie ever made. Heavily inspired by the book of Job and St. Augustine’s Confessions (and even including some lines about nature and grace seemingly derived from The Imitation of Christ), director Terrence Malick gives profound spiritual and cosmic scope to the story of an ordinary family in 1950s Texas.

The film begins with the death of a son, detours to the creation of the universe, and then flashes back to a richly observed sequence of childhood in all its beauty along with the tragic effects of sin—seen through the memory of a present-day narrator seeking the traces of God in his past.

The greatness of The Tree of Life lies in its unmatched poetic power. Unless you’ve seen another Terrence Malick film, it will be unlike anything you’ve seen before. Though it has a story, it is less focused on plot development than on an archetypal yet vivid picture of family life and how we gain, lose, and recover our awareness of “love smiling through all things”.

The film does not follow typical rules of chronological or visual continuity (one could say it is almost entirely montage), but its improvisational freedom and fluidity in acting, cinematography, and editing make for a kinetic and exhilarating viewing experience. The portrayal of childhood is surely the most beautiful ever put on screen.

Nathan Douglas joins as guest host in this continuation of our series covering Malick’s filmography.

Music is The Duskwhales, “Take It Back”, used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com