Thanks for the trailer. The movies looks intense.
I think the trailers are somewhat deceptive, because his films have a changeable pace, which irritates some viewers. But for me, to watch a Malick film is to be transported into a dream-like state where the senses are dazzled and the mind is forced into uncomfortable territory. When not working tirelessly on his craft, Malick maintains a reclusive existence in Austin, and coincidentally, I've been entertaining the thought of accepting a job in Austin. Anyway, due to the nature of his life, and his intense following, he has somewhat of a Salinger-like appeal---but has not taken Salinger's extreme measures to guard his privacy---and like the legions of fans that wandered into the insulated wilderness of Cornish, New Hampshire, I imagine a number of fans have made pilgrimages to Austin with the vain hope of meeting him in the flesh. Due to his intense privateness, he has never clearly elucidated the intentions of his films, but recurring themes are the dual nature of mankind, and the question of God's existence---but more broadly, existentialism. But maybe like David Lynch and Jim Jarmusch, the point of his pieces is not to propagate, but to compel an internal dialogue about these topics.
To return to an earlier point, I think Malick's ambiguity adds greatly to his allure, and like Salinger, this is an image that's not deliberately cultivated for reputational purposes. Rather, the underlying impetus probably has several sources, and beyond the aforementioned intention of being intellectually provocative in an unpretentious way, I suspect that there is a selfish desire to create without the intrusive and frustrating burden of fame, and to satiate his yearning for creative pleasure. Since he is reputed to have an unknown quantity of screenplay drafts, his filmmaking might just be secondary to his more commanding preference for writing, and could merely be a means to sustain an existence. Conversely, his mode of genesis may instead constitute a need to validate his work, which he may be a consequence of the invariable self-doubt that arises in artistry, and a sentiment that may predominantly motivate his self-imposed exile. Indeed, after the remarkable beginning of his film career, he inexplicably ceased directing for nearly twenty years, which is an extraordinary absence that may lend weight to this theory. And although I could be mistaken, when I examine Malick's narrative, I can't help but think of the beloved Salinger, a brilliant artist that suffered from a paralyzing amount internal turmoil, and which made the pressures of being a conventional---meaning public---and a typically commercially motivated artist no longer tenable. But it's possible that after 20 years, that he emerged from his personal trials, and decided that his desolate life was without sufficient meaning. Perhaps the vivid struggles of Malick's principal characters, are in fact, a projected representation of his own contests. His filmmaking might represent the triumph of the altruistic side of his nature, and his humble and timid way of urging the disillusioned to not sever themselves from their innate sense of hope.
Edited by Rol82, 05 January 2011 - 08:47 PM.