Hello everyone! Just wanted to hop on a paint drying log real quick to give y’all some updates.

Since late June last year, I’ve been working on an essay for a Malick film that, as time has gone by, has naturally ended up turning into thesis length lol. I have been planning to post it on my letterboxd account for quite some time, but there always seems to be yet another fascinating piece of information that I stumble across when researching that makes me want to write about the film more and more. 

Because of this process, I have spent a very large amount of time on this essay, so much so that it’s caused me to sacrifice my priorities in my schedule at times. This is something that I’m working on improving, because even though becoming a better writer is one of my goals for this year and the years to come, I must keep my priorities straight daily so I can consistently improve in other areas of my life that require more focus and time. 

I’m super excited to share this essay with y’all, even if none of you guys end up reading it, because writing this thing has been a journey and a half lol and just the simple process of uploading it will already be satisfying enough for me. 

I won’t reveal which film it’s about yet, but I will go ahead and say that the essay is a research paper that aims to accomplish 3 things: to uncover specific, experimental cinematic storytelling tools that Malick uses in the film, to dive into Malick’s (also experimental) process of making the film from pre-production to post, to explain why Malick uses these forms of cinematic storytelling and filmmaking to move the audience in spiritual and emotional manners, and to identify key messages that he aims to both communicate to and stick with audiences.

In the latter half of the essay, I reference a quote from Dr. Reno Lauro, a man who worked with Malick on set since The New World. He appeared as a guest on a podcast called Regeneration and eventually stated in the episode that when he finished working on The Tree of Life, he “wrote a couple of things” to try and process his thoughts, and then handed them to Malick: “I think Terry appreciated them, but what he really wants is not for people to be thinking about his films (I know this for certain), but to be moved by them…to allow the screen to elicit the ‘smile of life.’”

This is why I chose to write so much for this essay: not to write for the sake of writing, but to write because I was moved so much by this film. I know that Malick wishes for audience members like me to transfer that energy into becoming a better person, falling in love with the art of cinema on a deeper level, and simply enjoying the “smile of life” instead of using so much of that energy to write endlessly, but I chose to write so much because this essay itself, more than anything, quickly turned into an act of actually strengthening those areas of my life. It helped me feel the spiritual messages of the film on such deeper levels that even thinking about a simple musical cue or line in the film made me tear up, it convicted me to turn away from sin and embrace true life and life abundantly, it made me fall in love with cinema in a way I never thought possible, and it constantly reminded me why life is worth living. If the length of the essay causes only one person to read it, or even no one at all, I’m just glad it’ll be out there, and most importantly, that I went on this beautiful journey with the film that, more than anything, moved me. 

So yeah! I hope to release it soon! It still requires some touch-ups here and there, so back to the typewriter I go (jk lol, literally just my phone. Yes, my phone 😭)

I also hope to keep writing about other films this year, so stay tuned for that as well!

In Christ, 

Matt