Director Watch Podcast Ep. 63 – ‘The Tree of Life’ (Terrence Malick, 2011)

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 63 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson to discuss the next film in their Terrence Malick series, The Tree of Life (2011).

We’ve come to the midpoint mark of the Malick series and have hit the most important film in the filmography of the director, not just in terms of accolades and being known as one of the most important films of the 2010s, but it is also the film Jay claims as his favorite film of all time. A very personal episode of Director Watch is in store as the guys, alongside Erik, break down Malick’s most personal film to date about a journey through time, our place in the universe, what our stamp on history is, and what the meaning of life is through the eyes of a family living in a small Texas town. Ryan, Jay, and Erik talk about their relationship with The Tree of Life, how well the film has aged from when they first saw it due to growth and experience in their lives, the masterful imagery conveyed by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, the work of Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain as not just parents to the boys in the film but as the personification of nature vs. nurture, the dinosaur sequence, the glorious ending mixed into the fascinating scenes feature Sean Penn as a grown up version of Jack, how Malick is able to evoke the viewer’s memories of their past and juxtapose it to what he is showing on screen through his characters and setting, and of course, talk about the wild Oscar season that covered the films of 2011.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h17m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Terrence Malick with a review of his next film, To the Wonder. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)

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Ryan McQuade

Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.

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