The Tree of Life - Movie Reviews (2024)

There are two distinct films being made here and while the opening frames of The Tree of Life are some of the finest in memory, there’s little in the middle-to-late section of the film worth noting.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 10, 2023

You may not be able to pinpoint with words how it all comes together, but the beauty and power of Malick’s imagery and impressionistic approach to filmmaking convey another ponderous picture, the director’s most ambitious and lyrical work yet.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jun 7, 2023

A film that blossoms into a compelling tale of nature versus nurture, which boasts one of Pitt's finest performances and imagery that will take root in your brain for days afterwards.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 24, 2023

It is one of the most outstanding cinematic achievements of the 21st century and a tidy summation of everything that Malick does well.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | May 11, 2023

This is the sort of sprawling, ambitious masterwork that rarely receives funding from a major film studio and you’ve got to admire Malick for sticking to his guns.

Full Review | Feb 1, 2023

An auteur's film, [The Tree of Life] is hypnotic and profoundly reflects on the triviality of our existence. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 18, 2022

The visual and sonorous work is of dominating and overpowering beauty, and the spiritual, philosophical, and religious voiceover is ambitious (there's a tad of new age in the film), oscillating between genius and puerile. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Sep 7, 2022

It’s bold and unwavering and while it could be misconstrued as a vanity project, it’s a film that’s clearly close to Malick’s heart.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 27, 2022

A beautiful reflection in its bipolar structure, that fluidly equates the cosmic with the intimate. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 22, 2022

Worth watching for Lubezki's cinematography alone. A beautiful look at life from a microscopic level to the enormity of the universe.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 9, 2021

2 Bored 2 Beautiful

Full Review | Oct 2, 2021

You'll exit wanting three hours of your life back, a long hug, some ice cream, and your brain reprogrammed.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Mar 17, 2021

By juxtaposing the tiny, "mundane" human with the towering, colossal setting in which we exist, it's almost impossible not to imagine that there must be rhyme and reason behind the sheer magnitude of this imagery.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Nov 3, 2020

Its neatest trick is that it feels like a Malick autobiography even as it directly speaks to receptive viewers on a one-to-one basis. It's cinema as a give-and-take relationship: The movie can only provide as much as the viewer is willing to put into it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 2, 2020

A majestic audiovisual experience with rewards aplenty for those who are patient. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Oct 21, 2020

May not be the best film of 2011, but it will most certainly be one of the most unforgettable.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.0/4.0 | Sep 26, 2020

What a strange, odd, haunting, beautiful, and fascinating film.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Aug 6, 2020

"The Tree of Life" is breathtaking to look at, it really is stunning, but it is really just 138 minutes of whispering about God.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 11, 2020

It is shown with a wonder of emotion and visual beauty, together with sublime images that symbolize catharsis. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 24, 2020

Simultaneously micro and macro, the story of everything told in a single blade of grass.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | May 21, 2020