Terrence Malick is one of those directors
who are choosey in what they do. Ever since he released “Badlands” in 1973 he
has only made five other films. With that being said a Terrence Malick film is
something that a lot of people look forward to. There are also a lot of actors
who are lining up to work with him. Last year he wrote and directed one of the
most talked about films if the year in “Tree of Life”. Like that film “To the
Wonder” is amazing to watch, even if you don’t quite know what the story is.
The
plot for this film is pretty simple, so like the film I am going to keep my
description of it the same. Neil (Ben Affleck) meets a girl in Paris named
Marina (Olga Kurylenko). Marina has a daughter who she has from a previous
marriage. Neil and Marina move to Oklahoma, where Neil checks for environmental
damage for a company. Neil and Marina have a falling out and Marina movies back
to Paris. While she is gone Neil reunites with Jane (Rachel McAdams) and starts
a relationship with her. Marina comes back to Oklahoma and she and Neil get
married. Also in Oklahoma is a priest named Father Quintana (Javier Bardem) who
is trying to find God. Marina and Neil’s relationship becomes troublesome and
Marina moves back again to Paris, and that is it, that’s the movie.
Pretty
simple plot there and I will warn you, if you enjoy hearing Ben Affleck’s
voice, then this is not the film for you. The movie is told mostly though a
narrative by Kuylenko’s character, and in French, but don’t worry there are
subtitles. Words though are not important in this film, what is important is
the story you see with your eyes. Malick
is a genius with the camera and can find beauty in almost anything. I think you
could put Malick in an empty room and he would show you how beautiful the
shadows reflect off the light. I know that sounds funny, but after watching
this film you will understand exactly what I mean. The film seems like it is
told in a series of thirty second cuts, but in beautiful cuts. The lack of
dialogue may have your ears starving, but the stunning images you will see on
screen will more than satisfy your eyes. “To the Wonder” will not spawn the
discussions like “Tree of Life” or the accolades, but it still is a beautiful
film to watch. This is a film not many people will see, but if you want to see
the beauty that is around us every day, then this film will show you the wonder
all around us.
Brian Taylor
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