tree of life

Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” has landed at Fox Searchlight, which has opted to wait until next year to release the drama.
Searchlight made the announcement Thursday, saying that it’s acquired U.S. rights from Bill Pohlad’s River Road Entertainment for “Tree,” which stars Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.

“Tree of Life” had been the only release remaining at Pohlad’s troubled Apparition Films, which had never given it a release date. Apparition had laid off all but a few employees earlier this week.

“Tree” wasn’t completed in time for the Venice, Telluride or Toronto festivals.

“Terrence Malick has crafted a deeply moving, keenly observed and magisterial film,” said Fox Searchlight presidents Stephen Gilula and Nancy Utley in a statement. “Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and the entire cast’s performances are simply amazing. This is a signature film by a signature filmmaker and we are proud to be releasing it.”

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Producers have insisted that the film will hit theaters this year, and Malick has begun to work in earnest on his sixth film (which will apparently shoot in his boyhood hometown of Bartlesville, Oklahoma—a few years ago, Malick’s dear friend and collaborator Jack Fisk said that the now-56-year-old filmmaker “hasn’t yet made the projects most important to him,” but is he, now?). And somebody on the internet has seen a 3-hour rough cut of Tree of Life, and talked about in in some forum somewhere.

The poster hasn’t said how he saw it—a theater or screening room employee? affiliated with the distributor?—but claims that “Yes, it is finished,” although “there has already been talk in the news about Malick releasing it, then re-cutting it, then re-releasing it, etc.” Malick’s a private perfectionist, and he pulled The New World out of theaters to recut it, so it’s no surprise that he may still be pursuing his idea of the film. But it is, by some accounts, very close. (And probably very good.)

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The main bulk of the film is about his childhood growing up in Texas (reels 3-7 out of 9!). The “creation” footage is outstanding, absolutely jawdropping, and does indeed feel like 2001 – a lot of the effects are practical and your eyes can see that, which makes it really fascinating to watch. I don’t have a problem with the creation footage being connected to his boyhood, after all, most boys love dinosaurs, so that’s how I looked at it.

The story is framed around the death of his middle brother (in Korea?? We never know) and is a reflection on the circle of life, the evolution of life out of the mess of the Big Bang, but also about life itself (the strained relationship with his severe father, a stunning performance by Brad Pitt, just stunning), and the end of the Universe. I still haven’t given anything away that hasn’t already been said in the press. The film just has to be seen to be believed! One feels like a child again, seeing the world through young wide eyes.

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Thanks to Mickey.

It looks like no major film festivals are getting the trio of Terrence Malick, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn to appear on their red carpet this year. Following the initial Venice and TIFF lineup announcements made last week, and given the absence of Terrence Malick’s highly anticipated “The Tree Of Life” from either festival’s schedule, it’s not surprising to learn that the wait for the film will continue.

TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey spoke to the Toronto Star and revealed that though the festival tried very hard to secure the film, “none of us really expects that to happen at this point.”

Bailey continues, “It would be a lovely surprise, but we’re not holding our breath. We know he’s definitely still working on the film, and he’s tired of being pushed by people. We’ve backed off and Venice has backed off.”

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