Review of Knight of Cups (2015) by Mike S — 25 Jan 2016

Knight of Cups.

Terrence Malick's latest experimental "film" is a hell of an experience of images, sounds, and the events of a man living a strange, depressing, and only sporadically joyful life in this non-existent, undefined plot full of wonder and acts beyond description.

It's another beautifully filmed work of art from Malick that left me speechless, literally, I can't put the right words into this, purposely comparable to Rick himself.

Knight of Cups was a film I had a personal connection with more than anything else. It engulfed me into a world where nothing goes according to the word of conventional, it's a visual ectasy, matched with unforgettable music and "scenes.".

This is not a film that people cannot judge as a proper movie, it's a work of art that doesn't follow any basic structure.

The "acting" is again beyond words, because it's not acting, it's all improvised, unscripted, and natural - for the benefit of the realistic feeling.

Speaking of feelings, I was all over the place with this film.

It was an ineffable and visceral ride that gave me very mixed emotions, but my God, the visuals were truly ethereal like most of Malick's other films.

I would go from unhappy, to energized, to inspired and regretful.

This film honestly has so much hidden symbolism and natural reactions all in a bizarrely paced and repetitively lost-inducing feeling of things that I could not escape from. Things that could not cheer me up or make me a better person, but show me an unethical, yet important lesson of truth.

But is there any boundary between the truth and the lies?

Does one stop where the other one begins?

Man, this film did so much for me and I felt every second of it.

It's nothing ordinary, and nothing that can be explained or easily talked about.

I saw a lot in this film, depth & connections that cannot be given justice with any normal words or responses.

Trying to explain or review a Malick film like this is hard, it's a film you have to see and come to a conclusion for your own self.

If you're looking for something laid out normal or movie-like for easy, conventional entertainment - Look somewhere else.

The cinematography is beyond the sense of realism, I felt close, far, and disoriented. Exceptionally thought out.

Knight of Cups certainly isn't any Tree of Life magnum opus, nor is it the best piece of filmmaking, but it is an art form that speaks irregular truth and beauty that connected to me on so many levels of realistic relation. I saw it.

There is not rating for Knight of Cups.

I gave it 5 stars on Letterboxd, but this is no film.