Reaction: The Tree of Life

The Masters of Cinema class screened Terrence Malick’s film, The Tree of Life (2011). Some of them completed artistic responses in reaction to the film.

Anna Field:

When I watched The Tree of Life my first reaction was that it felt more like art than a movie, so I wanted to try and recreate that through a virtual collage. I took three ideas explored in the film (water, universe, love). Malick uses a lot of water imagery and the camera is always moving, so I made a montage from several videos to recreate that idea — life being continuously on the move. There are shots of the universe in the film, and the second collage is pictures I took over the summer. The last theme explored is love, because, otherwise “the days go fast.” Not just romantic love, but love of family, people, places, experiences, etc. 

Mary Wamsley:

I chose to respond to the theme of life, no matter how big or small. I have the stages of my life surrounded by nature. The back is space with planets. What I was trying to get across is that every element is important. Flowers, trees, humans and space all seem different from each other but are all just going through their own stages. The movie just got me thinking about life and our place on earth! 

Lily Brooks:

This is a movie made during a weekend at the coast as a reflection of  The Tree of Life. I felt like this movie was about the importance of appreciating your own life and the small beautiful things it has to offer. I go to the beach a lot because I am fortunate enough to live so close to it, but I often forget how lucky I really am. This film was a reminder to me of how to look at things that may seem routine for me but are, in reality, beautiful.

Linnea Anderson: 

The Tree of Life reveals the true meaning of human existence: there is always glory to life. My artistic response represents the same statement. I decided to incorporate two of my favorite art forms: collage and beautiful trash (a messy form of doodling), because I believe they are often overlooked and underappreciated. These art forms also often represent the meaning behind the artist’s subject rather than its appearance. I decided to draw the father, Mr. O’Brien, the way the audience may view him, sad, lost and empty. The collage represents the beauty he eventually finds in the world around him. The quote reads, “I dishonored it all and didn’t notice the glory,” a statement he makes after finding his own meaning in life. 

Nyssa Schulz-Rodriguez:

I responded to The Tree of Life by creating different versions of the same image using pen, pencil, colored pencil, watercolor, oil paints and cut outs from magazines. The aim was to show that everyone’s interpretation of the movie (and in general) are based on personal experience and perspective. The way people view the world has to do with how they grew up, when they grew up, and what they identify with/as.

Photo: Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures