re: Themes of Terrance Malick (Tree of Life)-Possible Spoilers

I see it's opening tomorrow at the Cinemark in Perkins Rowe. Is this a decent theater? I don't want to drive all the way to BR to see it at a dump.

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the penultimate scene is Jack finally smiling to himself like he had some small, but profound epiphany.

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My heart was pounding during this moment. It is quite similar to the ending of The New World. Pocahontas, who has been living in England in a kind of depression, an imprisoned soul, finally breaks free as she chases her son around that sterile lawn. "Mother I know now where you live." As Jack stands amongst those skyscrapers and is able to smile it could be his line.

The following shot after this moment is critical to me. Malick shows us a skyscraper reflecting the sky so that they melt into one seamless canvas. Man's creation and God's creation as whole. Also, the harmony between nature and grace. Until that point we are led to beleive that Jack's adult life has been posioned by too much nature, too much father. The city and its towering structures which trap him are evocative of the hard edged and the cold; nature. But ultimately I think Malick is not promoting grace as some kind of ideal through which life should be lived/understood, but rather demonstrating the necessity of both nature and grace. There is a give and take, and Malick's shot of the skyscraper and sky in harmony, as understanding flashes across Jack's face, represents this. I think the very last shot of the film - the river churning beneath the bridge - is making a similar statement.

Also, consider the lava and the water clashing to produce steam in the darkness. I think Malick is again illustrating the dance between nature (lava) and grace (water); a collision which is vital in some creating power's design.

I really need to see this film again. There were times I was so hypnotized by its technical artistry I can only guess that I looked right pass so much.

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Also, consider the lava and the water clashing to produce steam in the darkness. I think Malick is again illustrating the dance between nature (lava) and grace (water); a collision which is vital in some creating power's design.

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I took that whole "creation" segment to be nature. Pure unadulterated nature. With things growing and dying by natures code/laws. Then you have that dinosaur that was spared by a predator. That's the first bit of grace.

I do agree that grace is literally witnessed during the dinosaur sequence. Water isn't grace itself, but it does symbolize the force (his illustration of "heaven" is a beach after all) which is inherent in the code of the universe waiting to be introduced - through life. I may easily be reading too far at this point.

Just another thought about the dinosaurs. To me this was the antithesis of the moment in 2001 when the monkey discovers tools. Being able to knock another on the head was a step in evolution. Here, a dinosaur displaying mercy is seen as a transformative act.