DreamFeel

After a month's absence (I can only hope your heart has grown fonder), I return bearing great news (and more regular updates). 

This is Terrence Malick's first film since the New World in 2005, possibly my favourite film ever made, and is set to release early next year (May 27th for America). Here's the official, tantalising synopsis.

"We trace the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, JACK, one of three brothers.  At first all seems marvelous to the child.  He sees as his mother does with the eyes of his soul.  She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world’s way of putting oneself first.  Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims.  The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death.  The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth.

From this story is that of adult Jack, a lost soul in a modern world, seeking to discover amid the changing scenes of time that which does not change: the eternal scheme of which we are a part.  When he sees all that has gone into our world’s preparation, each thing appears a miracle—precious, incomparable.  Jack, with his new understanding, is able to forgive his father and take his first steps on the path of life.

The story ends in hope, acknowledging the beauty and joy in all things, in the everyday and above all in the family—our first school—the only place that most of us learn the truth about the world and ourselves, or discover life’s single most important lesson, of unselfish love."

Malick's distinctive style draws comparisons to other existential filmmakers like Antonioni or Resnais who are not afraid to let their films breathe and have a slow burning pace, and his fascination of the beautiful but cruel world of nature to Werner Herzog. However, it is his astonishingly well composed shots, and contemplative, wonderfully literate screenplays which make his creations the filmic epitome of the "Great American Novel".

He seems to be making up for the lost time of his 20 year absence between Days of Heaven in 1978 and the Thin Red Line in 1998, and is already filming a subsequent film, a Romantic Comedy (!), with Ben Affleck, Rachel Weisz, and Javier Bardem. Speculation is that the name of this project is 'The Burial'. It isn't a particularly traditional "Rom-Com" title, but intriguing nonetheless.