Review of To the Wonder (2013) by Mattbrady99 — 10 Jan 2020

“Life's a dream. In dream you can't make mistakes. In dream you can be whatever you want.”.

‘To The Wonder’ is a movie directed and written by Terrence Malick. However the movie will always be known to me as Roger Ebert's final review. His points are clear and thought-provoking, even if I don’t always agree with him. I loved his take on Malick and I bet Malick would have as well. So this gave me more of a vivacious viewing experience. While I wouldn’t recommend it to a conventional audience, as it lacks any structure that people who haven’t be exposed to his work would find insufferable. And it’s something that I can’t see myself watching again, but it’s a movie that explains nothing, yet shows everything.

A draining, but rewarding experience. When I mean rewarding - like something you reflect on in the next few days. There’s so much beauty on screen with the beautiful score and beautiful people. Bringing it all to life through the lens of Emmanuel Lubezki amazing camera work. The little dialogue didn’t distract from the great performances that was both playful and grounded. At times it loses itself within the wonder. A bubbly and a very current movie that can be hard to stomach. Malick seems more interested in capturing moments than anything else. There is a story, just small and simple enough for an explosive impact.

It’s not for everyone and I'm sure that Terrence Malick is perfectly fine with that.