Culture

The Regent Theatre - Octagon
Sunday 18 August 8.45pm
Rialto Cinema - Moray Place
Tuesday 20 August 4pm

Terrence Malick is a director lucky enough to have been stamped with auteur status. Nature, love and religion are the core of his past works Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line and Tree of Life, and his newest feature To the Wonder is no exception.

To the Wonder follows the romantic connections made and broken by American man Neil (Ben Affleck). Having fallen in love with Ukrainian divorcee Maria (Olga Kurylenko) whilst travelling around Europe, Neil brings Maria and her 10-year-old daughter Tatiana (Tatiana Chiline) to live with him in his home of Oklahoma. However, Maria and Tatiana become increasingly unhappy, and eventually return to Europe on the expiration of their visas. Neil finds solace in old flame Jane (Rachel McAdams), but his connection to Maria remains strong and their love story is far from over.

Despite the narrative being primarily focused on the connection between man and woman, Javier Bardem is also an important figure in the film as Father Quintana, a Catholic priest struggling through a loss of faith. Quintana’s internal battle is the epitome of Malick’s filmic concern with fragility – in a Malick film, nothing is stable.

To the Wonder is completely characteristic of Malick. Simply viewing the two-minute trailer leaves no doubt as to who made this film. With its lingering shots of sparse fields, heavy use of orchestral music and religious musings in the narration, it appears this film is another of his philosophical examinations of humanity’s relationship with nature and what it means to live.

To the Wonder happens to be the last film ever reviewed by legendary film critic Roger Ebert, so thank God he loved it. Giving the film a generous three out of four stars, Ebert commented that “Malick, who is surely one of the most romantic and spiritual of filmmakers, appears almost naked here before his audience, a man not able to conceal the depth of his vision.”

This film is cinematic, intense and thought-provoking – exactly the type of film you want to watch on the Regent big screen.