For man and nature, Terrence Malick has divine eyes. If in his films, the vast and magnificent natural landscape is the natural geography that is examined in his eyes, then the human face and movements are the human geography in his eyes.
The beginning of the film continues to dissolve and appear, the black and white images of the American market in the early 20th century, maybe it is the human geography that the director is trying to guide us to stare at.
In the film, the distribution and proportion of the facial features of the younger sister Linda, the scars on the corners of her eyes, and the hoarse voice beyond her age constitute a very unique human geography, which makes it stand out in the group portrait of the film. Probably because of this, Malick uses his sister as the narrative narration throughout the film, so that this character is both in the story and has a certain symbolic meaning.
There are natural scenery and human scenery, and the people in the film are often submerged in nature. Here is a quote from the film critic Roger Ebert, which is extremely accurate: Nature is always deeply embedded in Malick's films. It occupies the stage and then humans edge tentatively onto it, uncertain of their roles. There is always much detail, of birds and small animals, of trees and skies, of empty fields or dense forests, of leaves and grain, and always of too much space for the characters to fill. They are nudged here and there by events which they confuse with their destinies.
It seems that we are all in a "thrown state" as Heidegger said. Malick majored in philosophy during his undergraduate and graduate studies, and visited Heidegger in Germany. Regarding Heidegger's "Dasein" problem, Malick always tries to use the restoration of "reality" in the film to present, ask questions, or reveal clues for us to think about.
Malick can shoot beautiful pictures, but it's more than beauty. His intention to capture objects is deeply embedded in the expression of his theme. The tragic theater scene after the duel in the film, the character modeling and the camera position of the top shot, are as shocking as Kurosawa Akira.
This film is Malick’s second film. It is a continuation of the theme and style of his debut "badlands". Regarding a certain kind of "wandering destinies", the final destiny of the characters also has both the attributes of being trapped and free, or that is Trapped in freedom, it seems that there will never be an answer. After filming this "Day in Paradise", Malick retired in France. Perhaps after many years of thought exploration, Malick finally gave some kind of answer. For example, at the end of his third film "The Thin Red Line" after more than two decades, the soldier Witt was surrounded by groups and still Raise the gun at the last moment of his life and complete his duties.
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