December was a weird time for us. We were knee-deep in our Best of Decade coverage and eschewed news for a bit.
Something we noticed over the holidays that no one else seems to have (or we at least can’t find this headline), buried in the bottom of this article on the Apparition project, “The Runaways” was some additional details on the release of Terrence Malick’s long-awaited and highly-anticipated 2010 film, “The Tree of Life”
According to Apparition head Bob Berney, “Tree of Life,” will also go out via Apparition this summer or early fall “with fest play along the way.”
Interesting. The summer? Hmm, we really can’t see that happening unless they try and find a dead spot in August. Also, if they want to hit the film festival circuit, this pretty much means, you’d have to go out in the early fall.
Does that mean it’s closer to completion? One would assume. The latest rumors say that footage will be shown at the Berlin Film Festival to select international distribs, but anything more than that seems incredibly doubtful as that’s about a month away. This new tentative release date frame by Berney seems to suggest it won’t play Cannes, but a recent interview with the Apparition prez says the company is definitely looking to premiere the film at the Croisette (shit, we need to start packing our bags; fuck Sundance, this is where it’s at).
A newer, slightly different synopsis has appeared on IMDB. It was actually deleted several times, but then finally reposted, which suggests the hawk-eyes in the Malick camp didn’t want anyone to see it (apparently they’re notorious for having a delete trigger finger on any details leaking on to IMDB). It reads:
“The film opens documenting the origins of life, through the age of reptiles and mammals and then man. Progressively, we are swept through time until the 1950s, where the birth of life suddenly comes to seemingly pointless sickness and death. Pointless, that is, to young Jack, who is unaware of all that has led to this point and time, only to arrive to the tragedy he must come to grips with. This is the philosophical thrust of older Jack’s struggle to coexist in a world that seemingly has little to no value for him. The “tree of life” is the framework of the story, how one thing leads to another, a miracle of growth and evolution, where nature is purposeful, and never random.”
The tragedy part, definitely jives with the secretive plot details we’ve already heard about the film (honestly not that big of a deal to spoil, but we’re honestly scared to do so; the red sniper dot on your forehead is not fun). God, we can’t wait for this movie.
Damn, count me in. Really wish this film was finished and played in '09…
I am just dying a litttle bit inside if this doesn't make it to the Croisette in the end. People in Paris are already starting to bribe whoever they can to know if this is happening or not and believe me the Gala Screening's tickets are going to be insanely difficult to get. All the more so considering there won't be more than two screenings for it on that day. I'll be MORE than fine with a morning screening anyways. Oh dear!