Film: The Tree of Life (2011)
dCEC Lenten Film Series
Introduction by dCEC Faculty Fellow John O'Callaghan
The Tree of Life (2011)
Directed by Terrence Malick
With Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Sean Penn
Rated PG-13, 139 minutes, DCP
Terrence Malick took home the Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for this impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950's. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick's signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.