The Tree of Life starts something like a fragmented family drama. It soon moves onto an incredible sequence which is almost like an abstract portrayal of the history of the universe, narrowing down to a history of the Earth. Malick takes all the many patterns of life and existence– from microbiotic organisms to interstellar structures – and creates the most majestic collage. (I couldn’t help being reminded of that sequence at the end of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.)
The film evolves to focus on the story of Jack, son of a God-fearing American couple. It follows his journey from birth through childhood as he grows to makes sense of the world and struggles with his complicated adolescent emotions. The main plot follows Jack and his family, but the film remains universally relatable as it encompasses truly vast themes: life, death, love, hate, childhood, adulthood, parenthood, god, religion, nature, man, gender, sexuality, guilt, fear, shame, happiness, forgiveness, sacrifice…the list goes on.
Nearer the end it becomes highly symbolic, most notably repeating representations of doorways, passageways, bridges, circles, planets, suns, stars, waves, water, trees, hands, the sky and other loaded imagery which will inspire a complex of interpretations.
Ultimately, The Tree of Life is wholly philosophical and its messages are prophetic, discursive and intuitive. The juxtaposition of the greatest and smallest pieces of the universe gives the human drama a context that is humbling to say the least. Malick incredibly manages to underline the relative insignificance of man, whilst presenting an emotive human story. Malick has created an avant-garde masterpiece with mainstream appeal.
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