Review of To the Wonder (2013) by Myriam T — 06 Nov 2013

I finally sat down and watched To The Wonder last night. It certainly is a visually beautiful movie, and it is probably the saddest of all Malick's films, a stark view of alienation. Some people saw this as being a very Christian film, but I would not disagree more.

Certainly, the imagery is there, but the theme is all human, and the human is calling into darkness. Bardem's character is redeemed by the brief connections he makes with others, but his joyful prayer to "Christ" in the end is really a paen to suffering.

Consider that he is at his most alienated when "joining" two people in marriage, and at his most joyful when praying with the sick and dying. I'm not sure how to rate the film, and a tend to think it would have been a more effective film if he would have been brave enough to leave out the dialog altogether, because the whispering sometimes felt forced and pretentious, and it really did not illuminate the themes of the film.