The Tree of Life (film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Terrence Malick |
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| Written by | Terrence Malick |
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| Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
| Cinematography | Emmanuel Lubezki |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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139 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $32 million |
| Box office | $54.3 million |
The Tree of Life is a 2011 American experimental epic drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain. The 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 known universe and the inception of life on Earth.
After several years in development and missing 2009 and 2010 release dates, The Tree of Life premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Palme d'Or. It ranked no. 1 on review aggregator Metacritic's "Top Ten List of 2011", and in January 2012 was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography.
The Tree of Life made more critics' year-end lists for 2011 than any other film. It has appeared in the 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll of the world's top 250 films as well as BBC's poll of the greatest American films, one of the few 21st century works to be included in both.
The film begins with a quotation from the Book of Job: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth?... When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
A mysterious, wavering light, resembling a flame, flickers in the darkness. Mrs. O'Brien recalls a lesson taught to her that people must choose to follow either the path of grace or the path of nature. In the 1960s or thereabouts, she receives a telegram informing her of the death of her son, R.L., aged nineteen. Mr. O'Brien is notified by telephone while at an airport. The family is thrown into turmoil.
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