Our reaction? Meh.
On my Schnitzel Scale of movie ratings I give it 10 Schnitzels (out of a possible 10) for cinematography, 6 Schnitzels for acting, and 1 Schnitzel for story.
Wikipedia says: "The Tree of Life is a 2011 American drama written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain. Malick's film chronicles the origins and meaning of life by way of a middle-aged man's childhood memories of his family living in 1950s Texas, interspersed with imagery of the origins of the universe and the inception of life on Earth. After decades in development and missed 2009 and 2010 release dates, the film premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its technical and artistic merits, but there were also polarizing reactions in response to Malick's directorial style and, in particular, the film's fragmented and non-linear narrative."
I can deal with non-linear narrative, but bouncing back and forth between 1950's Waco, Texas and the dinosaur age and/or outer space? What. The. FUCK?
People actually walked out during the film, laughing, as if to say: "I can't believe I spent 8 Euros for this shit."
B agreed with Stephanie Zacharek of Movieline who said the movie is "a gargantuan work of pretension and cleverly concealed self-absorption."
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A much better use of our time and attention was the film HOME. Stunning. (And I saw a few of Yann Arthus-Bertrand's shots from HOME used in THE TREE OF LIFE.)
