Tree of Life Critique, Directed by Terrence Malick

Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick, is unique and emotional film that is memorable and uplifting, while also posing some interesting questions that stay true to society today. Through dynamic filming techniques and dreamlike non-linear storytelling, Malick is able to engross his audience visually, mentally, and acoustically.

Malick’s fluid motion techniques in Tree of Life really add a dynamic element to his stories. With this interesting camera angles, the audience experiences the family’s life as if they were there; they are a small child crawling under stables, and everything seems so big because they are so small. Malick is able to make a scene intensely emotional, even without the use of words. In comparison with my earlier review of Rope, which uses witty dialog and interesting plot to keep their audience entertained, Tree of Life uses beautiful filming methods and raw, human emotions to grab hold of his audience. Malick allows his audience to not only watch his characters experience life, but live it with them, and feel their emotions as personally as we could feel our own.

Tree of Life also deals with the daily and relatable struggle of fitting into society, and whether we, as human beings, should accept nature or grace. Because this film takes place in a 1950s setting, Malick sets up the general family dynamic of that time with a male patriarch who uses rougher methods to get what he desires in life – he follows the rules of nature. In contrast, the mother in the film follows grace, but is not as forceful because of it. Nature is shown as powerful, tough, merciless, and industrialized. Grace is shown as beautiful kind, nurturing, natural, but also ignorant in the eyes of nature. Malick is able to successfully industrialize nature and put the beauty of nature – the plants, animals, and water – into grace. In doing this, Malick is flipping the expected ideals of each (with nature being things outdoors and grace being a human creation) onto the other. Malick uses this idea in contrast with the beginning of time, when nature was brutal and harsh. He compares human’s ability to be empathetic and their capability of understanding with that of the earliest life. In doing this, Malick sides with grace – Tree of Life speaks in favor of enjoying the life and the love that human beings are capable of feeling over the desire to be successful, because without the previous, life wouldn’t be worth living, and what separates a human being from the earliest primordial creatures – the ability to live with grace – would be wasted.

Through Malicks masterful use of cinematography and meaningful, relatable storylines, Tree of Life becomes a film that connects with its audience and teaches valuable lessons that help us savor life to a better degree.

Critique on Rope, directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Rope, the first colored film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1948, is a masterpiece of it’s time and still remains completely unique and captivating. Hitchcock brilliantly devises his film with masterful filming techniques and an interesting and enthralling storyline.

Hitchcock’s filming technique is completely his own; throughout the entire film, with the exception of the first couple of seconds, the setting resides in Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan’s ornate apartment. The film seems seamless, following each character throughout thew house, and transitions almost inconspicuously with slow zooms to a character’s backside. This gives the allusion that you are there, experiencing this party, as if you were a fly on the wall the entire time. Even the skyline in the background gradually changes color; the color changes so slowly, the audience hardly notices that it happened. Lighting techniques also made the film seem incredibly real; flashing neon lights that illuminated the character’s faces during serious moments, the initial darkness after the murder of David Kentley, and the gradual darkness that signified the evening all made the film seem very genuine.

Hitchcock also was able to captivate his audience by making the story very interesting. Because this entire movie takes place in a single apartment, it would have been very easy for Hitchcock to lose his audience’s interest, but his directing choices, character positions, and enchanting storyline allowed his audience to feel anticipation, horror, as well as laugh a little. Hitchcock is able to make his serious film amusing; his dark humor can still be enjoyed today, although it leaves everyone laughing feeling a little bad afterword. Hitchcock has a few underlying themes in his film, as well, and his use of Nietzshe’s philosophy and the Ubermensch brought up several questions. Rupert Cadell, Phillip and Brandon’s teacher who was the first to talk about Nietzche’s philosophy and human superiority, can be seen as a hypocrite. Although he was responsible for putting these thoughts into the boys’ heads, he mentioned that his ideas about human superiority and murder as an art were never supposed to be taken the way Brandon and Phillip took them.

 “Until this very moment, the world and the people in it have always been dark and incomprehensible to me, and I’ve tried to clear my way with logic and superior intellect, and you’ve thrown by own words right back in my face; you’ve given my words a meaning that I never dreamed of, and you tried to twist them into a cold logical excuse for your ugly murder!”

And later in Rupert’s speech, he mentions that David Kentley could live and love like Brandon never could. This hints that there is something physiologically wrong with Brandon; Brandon is unable to feel empathy or experience emotions like a normal human being. In addition, Rupert mentions that there is something inside of Brandon that allowed him to go through with this murder, and something inside himself that would never allow such a thing to happen. Brandon’s actions throughout the movie are also compared to Phillip’s; Phillip is scared, regretful, and paranoid, while Brandon acts completely fine and at peace. Brandon is shown as almost robotic, like he is void of emotion, and is enjoying himself and is proud if his murder. While it might have not been known at the time of this film, Brandon’s actions show psychopathic tendencies.

Rope is completely unique and highly entertaining while also delivering a worthwhile message about the sanctity of life. Hitchcock executes his film through filming style and message so brilliantly that it can still be thought of as an entertaining film in modern times.

Critique on M, directed by Fritz Lang

M, a German film from 1931 directed by Fritz Lang, is a testament of it’s time; through observing the brilliant cinematography, historical background, and underlying meaning of the film, the audience can uncover what Lang was truly trying to communicate.

Germany during the time of M‘s production was financially unstable and recovering from a lost warfare. Moral was low, unemployment was high, and government was weak, which eventually would lead to the rise of Hitler. This time between World War 1 and the rise of Hitler would be a dark time for the German population, which is effectively shown through the atmosphere of M. The adults during this time, who’s life had been overrun with the horrors of war and the difficulties of economic depression, had one question on their minds – what will happen to our children? This is where Fritz Lang comes in.

Hans Beckert’s murders affect the entire town’s lives. Not only is the youth being destroyed, but even the adults lives are changing because of Beckert’s murders. Fritz correlates the loss of the children to society’s destruction; children are the future, and without children, there is no hope for a good one. The chaos that consumes the town and the constant paranoia shows a society that lives in distrust and delusion. Germany longed for a generation not corrupted by warfare. Germany longed for children who would build a better future.

When Beckert is in court and the judge is about to give him his ruling, the camera pans over to a group of women. These women aren’t listening to the ruling. Instead, in an emotional voice, one of the women says,

“This won’t bring back our children. We, too, should keep a closer watch on our children.”

Throughout the film, chaos is the murderer’s fault. The police’s rampages are the murderer’s fault. Difficulties in business are the murderer’s fault. Everyone believed that once they captured this murderer, everything would restore itself. But, they are wrong.

Hans Beckert isn’t just symbolism of a diseased society; he is more than that. Hans Beckert is symbolism of the effects of warfare. Germany’s war might have been over, but the effects still remained the same. Even though Beckert is caught, the children are still in jeopardy. And because the children are in jeopardy, the future of Germany is also in danger. Lang was making a point by not showing the results of Beckert’s sentence; the end of chaos does not come with the end of Beckert. The town, similarly to Germany, is still very much in danger.

Another question that Lang asks is whether Hans Beckert should be put to death for what he has done or whether it is not his fault, but rather his diseased mind, and should be instead but in a mental asylum. Throughout the film, moments can be noted in which Beckert’s diseased mind becomes apparent – through these moments we can conclude that Beckert is a product of his chaotic society, a product of war.

Hans Beckert’s dark silhouette is the first glimpse the audience gets of the killer. This shadow covers his very own wanted poster. Beckert’s murderous side is a dark shadow of himself, and this dark side overpowers any logical or moral semblance that Beckert is capable of having. Beckert is able to stand so close to his own wanted poster while talking to his new child victim without any remorse – certainly a killer wouldn’t talk to a child completely out in the open right next to his very own wanted poster? This seems like a recipe for disaster. But Beckert does this anyways, without hesitation. This complete lack of empathy is the first sign of his mental instability.

Later in the film, Beckert begins to follow a child, but stops when her mother comes to pick her up. Suddenly, he is ripped out of his murderous persona, and leaves to get a drink by himself. In this scene the audience witnesses a variety of Beckert’s emotions; Beckert rubs his face, tries to fight his insanity, and ultimately fails. He then begins to whistle. Beckert made an attempt to stop himself, but his poisoned mind overcame his rational thought. His scene really shows that he does have a mental illness, which overpowers his natural state of mind.

Frtiz Lang is brilliant in his ability to depict a society’s fears in his film M. Through this film, a viewer can see the fears, morals, and outlook that Germany had during this time period. In addition to this, Lang beautifully portrays his message of protecting the next generation.