ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Terrence Malick

West of Her: Into the Great Wide Open

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Stay honest, Mr. Lincoln. – Jane, West of Her

Directed by Ethan Warren, West of Her tells the story of Dan (Ryan Caraway), a young man searching for purpose. Alone and adrift in life, he signs on with a mysterious organization, agreeing to travel the country with the enigmatic Jane (Kelsey Siepser) as they unveil mysterious and enigmatic street art in the middle of the night.

Set against the backdrop of the American mid-west, West of Her is both an engaging and cinematic film that, at times, feels like a bold experiment. In many ways, the film feels almost like it could have been directed by Terrence Malick, which is a high compliment for first-time director, Ethan Warren. His use of broad cinematography surrounds his leads in a way that makes them appear small by comparison, emphasizing their insignificance on the grand stage. What’s more, his use of improvisation brings a sense of authenticity to the conversation between the two leads, creating a sense of genuine honesty between them. All of these factors add up to create a film that is engaging and candid in its quest for meaning in our disconnected culture.

In many ways, West of Her is a love letter to the millennial experience in that, while it struggles to find clear answers, it is more than willing to engage the murkiest of questions. Issues of belief, identity and our purpose in this life flow freely within the film in ways that neither judge nor belittle those asking them. At one point, the film makes an appropriate reference to the Wizard of Oz and, in doing so, offers a callback to the mysterious man behind the curtain. As the ‘great and powerful’ Wizard proved to be frustratingly ordinary, so too does Dan and Jane’s endeavor seem lost at the hands of a faceless organization who remains quiet on their reasoning behind the project. Still, while Jane accepts their mission to lay their art as an end to itself, Dan wants to know more. He yearns to find his place in a universe that seems overwhelmingly large and imposing against their own individual unimportance. He claims to have no particular system of belief but cannot accept that there is no meaning to life. (“You believe more than you think you do,” Jane prods.)
But what exactly does Dan believe? Certainly, he wants to believe that his work has meaning. The artistic endeavor that they’re involved in seems to be driven by some end goal, but the purpose eludes him. (“It’s not just the mystery,” he says. “I think it has something to do with the message.”) The tiles seem to offer some words of hope and connectedness to those around him, yet he and Jane still move around like nomads. He also believes in the reality of love (although it could also be argued that Jane believes in the power of that more than he does). Ultimately, however, Dan seems to be caught in an ongoing stream of ideologies, striving desperately to discover something true and honest. (Incidentally, Jane also seems to be one who used to believe something secure… until life’s tragedies shattered her confidence in anything real.)

Nevertheless, rather than settling for an ending that simply acquiesces to the meaninglessness of life, West of Her also remains confident about the nature of purpose. Eternally hopeful, Dan seems to recognize that, even though the doesn’t have all the answers, he still believes there are answers. Though it is unafraid to ask the most difficult questions of this generation, there is an optimism about the film that remains palpable. Yes, Dan may be dissatisfied with the traditional answers given—several beautiful shots with a church background suggest a spiritual heritage—but he is very interested in engaging them. Dan wants to believe something.

He’s just not sure what he’s looking for. Yet.

In the end, West of Her is a surprisingly engaging and philosophical film with grand intentions. Director Ethan Warren builds a solid visual tension with his cinematography while the leads carry their heavy load effectively and authentically. Wrestling with some of life’s most difficult questions, West of Her reveals the cries of a generation struggling with their own disconnectedness from truth and each other.

 

West of Her is available on iTunes and Google Play.

The New World (2005) Criterion Collection: Malick’s Love Triangle #TBT

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In 2005, Terrence Malick delivered a sweeping, epic vision of the seventeenth century love triangle inhabited by the singular Native American princess Pocahontas (Q’orianka Kilcher) and her two English explorers, John Smith (Colin Farrell) and John Rolfe (Christian Bale). Thanks to the experienced filming eyes of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and Malick’s direction, the story beautifully appears in its extended cut, while maintaining the timeless sensation of exploration, love, and faith that fills the lives of these three.

When I first saw the film over a decade ago, I found it slower than I’d expected, and a bit dull. After unraveling several other works by Malick since then, and reading the included essay by film scholar Tom Gunning (“Dwelling in Malick’s New World”), I’m convinced that there’s a genius here that I didn’t see at first. Malick’s New World is truly a moving canvas, a painting of what life might have been like in the 1600s, for Pocahontas and her two lovers.

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While Pocahontas first meets, rescues, and loves Smith, making their relationship slightly more ‘true’ than her next with Rolfe, the purity of Pocahontas’ spirit shines in both of the relationships. For Smith, she is his rescuer and redeemer; for Rolfe, she is his admired, exotic jewel to be rescued and redeemed. In fact, watching the film as a minister, I am somewhat troubled by the image of what conversion looks like for Pocahontas: is she forced, coerced, or manipulated? Audiences will probably differ on how full-on her experience of the Christian God is. But in Malick’s world, the tension remains.

The beauty of Malick’s vision for the world Pocahontas inhabited is wonderful. While the editing and cinematography usually ride in the backseat to my understanding of story, Malick has made this visual depiction of the early Americas a plot in itself. Can natural beauty be captured by humankind – or by the camera? Can Pocahontas’ spirit really be controlled? One walks away from the film believing that if they can in fact be ‘owned,’ then we have lost something of ourselves as well.

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The Criterion Collection’s stellar package also includes the additional footage, allowing the audience to choose from the 172-minute, 150-minute first cut, or 135-minute theatrical cuts. Interviews with Farrell and Kilcher, as well as those behind the scenes, allow the audience to experience a depth to the way that the film was put together; the documentary shot during the filming of the epic, “Making ‘The New World,'” adds even more to the experience.

Knight of Cups: Finding the Pearl

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“The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come; Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream”

Those words open Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups. They are the full title of John Bunyan’s seventeenth century allegory of Christian life. The film itself is not really allegory, but it does take the form of a journey in search of . . . .

First, it must be noted that Malick’s films, especially his last few, have a very esoteric quality. They are visually stunning, but many may find them difficult to understand because they are so different from most other films. This comes from being highly visual and often dreamlike films that care more about evoking emotional response than they care about storytelling per se. That is not to say that there is no plot to his films. However for Knight of Cups the story itself is of minor importance. The story actually exists as implied plots—we see bits of stories play out, but we may not be sure just what story we are seeing. Even within those stories, some of the dialogue really isn’t meant for us. It may be covered up by voice over that may seem like a distraction, but in fact brings new understanding to the experience Malick is creating.

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The film focuses on Rick (Christian Bale), a screenwriter working in Hollywood. It feels to him that he is “living a life of someone I didn’t ever know.” Throughout the film he wanders through the affluent lifestyle and we see encounters with a variety of people. The supporting cast includes Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Brian Dennehy, Isabel Lucas, Imogen Poots, Freida Pinto, Wes Bentley, Antonio Banderas, and Cherry Jones. In press notes I’ve read who all these characters are, but the film never explicitly identifies them. Rather we just get these glimpses into Rick’s past and current life.

Early in the film we hear the tale of a prince sent to search for a valuable pearl. But when he gets to the city, he is given a drink that makes him forget who he is and what he is to do. That tale becomes the metaphor of Rick’s life—and perhaps of modern life in general. The opulence of Los Angeles and Las Vegas is not portrayed as empty, but neither is it fulfilling in itself. That life style is just where Rick has found himself, but is there something more to life than what he has found? The various encounters he has along the way are all bits that may show him a way forward–“from darkness to life”—from forgetfulness to remembering who he is and why he is here.

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Rick’s wandering is essentially a spiritual search. He is directionless, without an idea where he is going. In that sense, he is lost, although he doesn’t seem to recognize that. This is a journey that includes pain and joy, hope and despair, dreamlike beauty and harsh realities. Malick peripherally brings in various spiritual traditions (Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu) as a part of this “pilgrim’s progress.” All the experiences, the people, the concepts Rick encounters all serve as reference points for this existential journey. Rick’s journey is really a metaphor for our own lives. Perhaps we don’t have quite as many decadent trappings, but we do live in a world of wealth. And, like Rick (and the prince searching for the pearl), we also may be lost—having forgotten what the meaning of our sojourn here is really about.

As is often the case with Malick’s films, Knight of Cups is an immersive experience. It is best approached not with logic or by seeking symbols to interpret (at least not at first viewing). Rather viewers need to let go of the more cerebral parts of ourselves and just let the film surround us and overwhelm us. I believe those who are able to see the film in this way may find great meaning, but perhaps not meaning that can be put into words. It is the kind of meaning that may dwell deep within us and allow us to discover that we are all on the same kind of pilgrimage that Rick experiences.