It is one of his more elusive endings. I don't think it was a dream at all.
When I saw the film at Toronto, Olga said she was surprised by the lightness of the film. That it was much darker, at least for her character. As we know, the inspiration for the character (Malick's second wife) died during post-production of The Tree of Life, I believe. So, I feel there's perhaps some things that were suppressed in the film.
The impression I got, was that Olga had a baby from her affair with Skinny Pete (#BreakingBad) and they resolved their divorce and she went home where she died. The film shows a few children at the end, along with a new wife, so I think that Neil ended up raising the kid as his own with his new wife. Olga's character Marina was a bit unstable, and on medication (we can decipher based on the pills, lol), plus the daughter we see in the film finds it necessary to go live with her father. In production still, we see that the daughter ran away and was found by the police - an event I recall reading that happened in real life.
I suspect a longer cut of the film would have been more clear - for better or worse. I feel that a degree of ambiguity is always interesting, but that Malick's vision would be better realized with just a little more time. But no one wants to release a 4 hour Malick film in cinemas and I don't think Malick wants to release director's cuts to appear like he doesn't have Final Cut. This is only my suspicion. Allegedly there's a Extended Cut of The Tree of Life that Criterion is sitting on.
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thepalestfire
10 years ago
That is too big of a leap for me.
Also, I didn't mean that she was literally dreaming it, and I'm not sure if I buy that theory myself. Just a possibility until I see it again.
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lamont-hard
10 years ago
I would not have guessed that at all ..You say She got pregnant by the affair. That is one apparently everyone missed. I think this just adds, more mystery to the film. Seems like all the confusion makes for good discussions but not many questions answered. Thanks for the info.
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jab670
10 years ago
I didn't think that initially, but then someone pointed out how at the end of the film, she is holding an infant, then walking a toddler, etc. And it got me think how that could be logically true. The birth and upbringing of the child is handled in a similar to The New World where you never see the pregnancy or birth - it's just a baby then a toddler than a young boy.
But the end is definitely ambiguous.
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lamont-hard
10 years ago
You know once in a great while writers, directors and the money that's backing the film simply blow it. It does not take away from the brilliance in making the film it's just that they are human. I feel as in the film melancholy the director and the entire film crew can't come up with a ending they all can agree on so what we get is the muddled ending of to many cooks in the kitchen and it is left at that. They cannot go on record with what happened but the film shows there was confusion on a massive scale. I think this film is one of those that fits as I have described. Also some actors play parts in this confusion as well.
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thepalestfire
10 years ago
With Malick there is only one chef in the kitchen. Granted you might not like the film, but I don't think the ambiguity of the ending has anything to do with there being many creative forces in the production.
I'm not sure what you mean by your other point: "I feel as in the film melancholy the director and the entire film crew".
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jab670
10 years ago
I think he meant the film Melancholia? By Lars Van Trier?
I don't feel in this case that this was a "too many cooks in the kitchen" thing. Especially seeing as Olga Kurylenko was surprised by the end result when I heard her speak at the TIFF premiere. Heck, she wasn't even certain she was in the film until she saw it and she was the main character!
My suspicion is that, as Malick is known to be very private, this and The Tree of Life are very personal films. Notice how the death of his brother in The Tree of Life is not described in any detail but there's allusions like "He was always hard on himself." And in To the Wonder, the gritty details are also minimized. I feel if anything, it's not too many cooks, but that he has a certain discomfort to divulge too much - or that it feels too close to home to him.
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lamont-hard
10 years ago
You say.....or that it feels too close to home to him.
If this is the case then why make the film about the subject. I will say that even the major Hollywood people have trouble sometimes with endings. They are clueless to how to end there great work and they simply fail to do a good job. When it is as bad as this ending is once in a great while they are bombarded with suggestions, The also have deadlines, temperamental stars, and a host of other issues and we can see this in the way the film tuns out. I see this a lot and we will never get the true story because it is covered up.
Perhaps you are correct in your thoughts on this but I simply disagree that he would end his work on such a confusing note.
A good example of this is this IS THE film THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY.. THE DIRECTOR WANTED THE FILM TO SHOW SHE LEFT HER HUSBAND AND FAMILY AND WENT WITH CLINT EASTWOOD, BUT THE STARS EASTWOOD AND STREEP WOULD NOT DO THE FILM IF THIS WOULD HAPPEN HE OBVIOUSLY DID NOT WANT HIS MALE FANS WHOM IS HIS MEAL TICKET TO SHOW HIM STEALING A HARD WORKING FARMERS WIFE NOR DID SHE WANT TO BE SEEN DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT' SO THE REWROTE IT TO HAVE HIM THE HUSBAND PASS AWAY, THEN HAVE HER ASHES SPREAD TO BE WITH HIM IN THE HEREAFTER.
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jab670
10 years ago
"If this is the case then why make the film about the subject"
Well, I think it's perfectly logical to tackle personal matters. Tarkovsky often drew from his memory. But you definitely should go all the way or not at all. I re-watched To the Wonder last night and I see great elements in the ending - like the shot of Olga carrying the baby is amazing. And the final cut from the light on her face to the Mont St. Michel. But it's too fractured.
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