If Terrence Malick had his way, this article would start (after a meandering shot through space) as a series of 1s and Os — Binary Code AKA the code of life for a computer. Then, after at least four minutes of a slow but beautiful pan over my keyboard, we would float into the air to consider my wi-fi for at least thirty minutes. Brad Pitt would star as my hands while Cate Blanchette would be the voice of my internet connection, AKA Life. Terrence Malick isn’t for everyone, but that’s okay.
The auteur has been quite busy since taking seven years off after 1998’s The Thin Red Line, with five movies finished since 2005’s The New World release. His latest potentially obtuse offering will be Voyage of Time, which is an IMAX nature documentary using similar footage seen in the dawn of time segments from one of this author’s favorite movies, The Tree of Life.
Fans of Malick know that this is his baby. He’s been working on this movie for nearly thirty years, and his telling of the birth and death of the universe is only now coming out after his investors sued him for breach of contract. That last little tidbit aside, this should be one of the most awe-inspiring “nature documentaries” to come to theaters in recent years. Brad Pitt is signed on to narrate the 40-minute IMAX version, and Cate Blanchette is narrating the 90-minute 35mm version.
It seems like this could be seen as a quasi-sequel to The Tree of Life, or a prequel and sequel to everything everyone has ever done in the history of the world.
