Director Terrence Malik has a fairly recognizable creative style. His debut in the big movie was the film "The Wasteland" (1973), now considered a cult. In general, at the moment he has already shot nine films. And for one of them (for the film "The Tree of Life") he was awarded the "Golden Palm Branch".
Early biography
Terrence Malik was born in 1943 in the American town of Ottawa (Illinois) in the family of Irene and Emil Malik. The grandfather and grandmother of the future director on the father's side were Christian Assyrians who arrived in the United States from Iran.
It is known that Malik attended St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin (Texas). And after school, he was enrolled in the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University.
After Harvard, Terrence was a journalist for some time. In this capacity, he talked with the dictator of Haiti, François Duvalier (aka “Papa Doc”) and spent several months in Bolivia, where he followed the trial of the French left philosopher Regis Debre, who was tried for his relationship with Che Guevara and his squad.
In 1969, he moved to Los Angeles and entered the American Film Institute. And in the same 1969, Malik shot the short film "Lanton Mills".
In the early seventies, Terrence showed himself in Hollywood primarily as a screenwriter. In particular, there is evidence that he had a hand in the early version of the script of the police action movie Don Siegel "Dirty Harry" (although he was not indicated in the credits).
And in 1972, Stuart Rosenberg's film Pocket Money appeared on the big screens, and Malik also worked on her script. However, the film ultimately received not very good fees and reviews.
From Wasteland to Thin Red Line
In the summer of 1972, Malik set to shooting the first full-length film - The Wasteland. The basis for him was the real story of the criminal Charles Starkweather and his lover Caryl Fugate.
The main characters of this film are young Keith and Holly (their roles were played by Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek). They live in the American wilderness and think that they love each other. Holly's father is not happy that his daughter sees Kit and forbids them to date. All this ultimately leads to tragedy - Keith kills his beloved dad. And then the couple takes flight through the endless American wastelands
.The film was first shown in 1973 at the New York Film Festival, after which they immediately started talking about the beginning director.
However, Malik's next film appeared only five years later. It was called Harvest Days. This film features a very beautiful visual component. Many even pointed out that the "picture" here to some extent suppresses the plot. For this film, Malik received the prize of the Cannes Film Festival "For Best Director". And this was not a trivial event, because the last time before Malik, a filmmaker from the USA received a similar prize more than 20 years ago.
After this resounding success, Malik was offered $ 1, 000, 000 for making the next film at Paramount Pictures. Malik had already begun to prepare for the shooting, but at some point he suddenly threw everything away and left for Europe, in Paris. Here he began to lead the life of a recluse, preferring not to communicate with reporters.
The next film directed by the film director, The Thin Red Line, was released only in 1998 (that is, twenty years after Harvest Days). The film is based on the eponymous work of the writer James Jones on the theme of World War II. One of the obvious advantages of this large-scale film (it, by the way, lasts as much as 170 minutes) is a good casting. In particular, George Clooney, Adrian Brody and Sean Penn played here. Filming of the Thin Red Line took place mostly in the Australian forests and on the Solomon Islands.
The film received positive press from critics and was nominated for seven Oscars. Moreover, Malik himself was personally nominated twice - as a director and as a screenwriter. But in the end he did not get a single figurine. But for this tape he was awarded the main award of the Berlin Film Festival - "Golden Bear".
Terrence Malik in the 21st Century
Malik’s fourth film, titled “New World, ” was released in 2005. This picture takes viewers to the 17th century and talks about the first settlement of the British in North America, as well as a meeting with the indigenous inhabitants of these places - the Indians.
The film is characterized by a leisurely narration, as well as a large number of picturesque shots. The operator of this film was Emmanuel Lubecki. And later he worked with Malik in several more paintings.
The next project of the director is the film "The Tree of Life". This is a family drama and an abstract philosophical parable at the same time. The protagonist here recalls his long-gone childhood. And through these memories, it is clearly shown how a small child, to whom the world around him seems kind and beautiful, for the first time encounters such things as suffering and death
The drama premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Golden Palm Branch. Moreover, The Tree of Life was nominated for an Oscar in three categories - Best Cinematography, Best Director, and Best Film.
After that, Malik began to produce his paintings much more often. In 2012, the film "To a Miracle" was released. The plot is simple: Neil (Ben Affleck) and Marina (Olga Kurylenko) are married, but their relationship is in crisis. And so they both start romance on the side. And in an attempt to return to their former love, they turn to the priest for help
In general, we can say that this is another very poetic, almost plotless work by Malik. And, by the way, not all critics treated her favorably. Many accused the tape of its pretentiousness and pathos, talked about the secondary nature and banality of some moments. On the other hand, there were also those who considered this creation of Malik very deep and masterful.
In 2015, Malik’s new film “Knight of the Cups” was presented to the public. The main character here is a certain successful screenwriter (played by Christian Bale), who, despite his success, this hero feels superfluous and tries to find his place in the world.
A year later, in 2016, at the Venice Film Festival, the premiere screening of Malik’s documentary “Time Travel” took place. In it, viewers are introduced to the colorful history of the universe - from its inception to destruction. It is worth noting that this film exists in two versions. The 40-minute version was created specifically for IMAX movie theaters and was called "Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience." A version was also made for conventional movie theaters. Its duration was 90 minutes, and it officially had the name "Voyage of Time: Life's Journey". It should be added that the long version was generally welcomed by critics and viewers less favorably than the short one.
In 2017, Malik again delighted fans of his work - his melodrama "Song by Song" was released on the screens. It talked about several young people striving for musical fame, and about the intricate relationship that arose between them. The leading roles in this film were occupied by such famous movie actors as Christian Bale, Natalie Portman and Ryan Gosling.
And finally, in May 2019, the premiere of the ninth feature film of Malik - the historical drama "Secret Life". This drama is based on the biography of the Austrian Franz Jägerstetter. He became famous for consciously and publicly giving up military service in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. As a result, in 1943 he was executed. And later, he was proclaimed a martyr and blessed. At the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, this film was considered a contender for the Golden Palm Branch. But in the end, this award was awarded to the South Korean film "Parasites" (directed by Pong Joon Ho).
