Shining Glory: Theological Reflections on Terrence Malick's Tree of Life

by Peter J. Leithart

About the Contributor(s): Peter J. Leithart is President of Trinity House, a study center in Birmingham, Alabama, and an adjunct Senior Fellow at New St. Andrews College, Moscow, Idaho.

Genres: Film, Christianity, Religion, Theology, Essays, Nonfiction, Christian

88 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2013

About the author

Peter Leithart received an A.B. in English and History from Hillsdale College in 1981, and a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theology from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in 1986 and 1987. In 1998 he received his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in England. He has served in two pastorates: He was pastor of Reformed Heritage Presbyterian Church (now Trinity Presbyterian Church), Birmingham, Alabama from 1989 to 1995, and was founding pastor of Trinity Reformed Church, Moscow, Idaho, and served on the pastoral staff at Trinity from 2003-2013. From 1998 to 2013 he taught theology and literature at New St. Andrews College, Moscow, Idaho, where he continues to teach as an adjunct Senior Fellow. He now serves as President of Trinity House in Alabama, where is also resident Church Teacher at the local CREC church. He and his wife, Noel, have ten children and five grandchildren.

Reviews

[Mike Thorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leithart's analysis is often too rigidly schematic for my liking, but it does helpfully identify some of the film's external reference points (mostly theological, but also philosophical and literary).

Even as a lifelong Malick admirer, I get a little tired of all the airy critical whisperings about his "transcendental" style, especially when they're detached from any kind of grounded thematic/formal reading... thankfully, this book doesn't go there often, but it does tend to privilege description of affect/image over interpretative engagement. Overall, it's a slight, digestible and mildly interesting book on an extremely challenging film.

[Timothy Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels a bit counterintuitive to approach a film as ineffable as The Tree of Life with this kind of organized, schematic analysis, but to his credit, Leithart admits up front that his book is, in a certain sense, superfluous. Though there are several good insights here (reading Jack O'Brien's initials as a reference to Job is so clever and, in retrospect, forehead-smackingly obvious), most of all, the book just made me want to watch the film again. I think Leithart would count that as a win.

[Ariel Nunes · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s definitely some intriguing insights into Malick’s The Tree of Life in this book. Well worth reading.

[Adil Sylqa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This great book does justice to a great film. It's my second read in a month and it's impressive the commitment Leithart put to illustrate almost every frame of the film. The way it is structured, the extensive research that has gone into it combined with author's knowledge on religion and philosophy makes even the biggest Malick skeptics to appreciate the glory in The Tree of Life.

[Jonathan Bicker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful summary for the movie with more than a few stunning insights due to Leithart’s clearly researching this movie a lot. He offers many interesting insights and takes on moments that had always struck me as decidedly abstract and offers some very plausible explanations.

Only problem for me, as someone who loves the movie and has watched it many times, is that I don’t necessarily *want* everything explained - the movie’s mystery is part of its draw - and there was, for me, a feeling of “Yeah, I know...” that pervaded my read-through, but I’m willing to admit that that’s more of a me-problem than a problem with the book.

[Gabbi Lübben]

“If we cannot dance with the shadows, we will never learn to dance. If we can never see the shining glory there, we will find it nowhere. Can you dance on a grave? We had better be able to, because the cemetery of the world is the only dance floor we have.” -pp. 75-76

[Jacob Vahle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fitting Easter movie - and this little reflection is a great guide to the symbols and imagery. I particularly enjoyed thinking more about water, windows, and the book of Job. Truly enhances the experience of the film

[G Leithart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a sharp, cold analysis of the film, but an analysis as poetic and probing as the film itself. I'm looking forward to rewatching it after having read this.

[Tyson Cocks]

For every observation or view that I thought was really interesting or insightful there would be two or three right behind that felt like a bridge to far. But that is the beauty of this film, you could read into it as much or as little as you like and still come away with a lot to think about.

[Phillip Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable set of essays to help me think more about a movie that I initially did not enjoy that much, but after watching it again and reading this I have grown in my appreciation of it. It would be more interesting to read Malick's actual reasons for why he did what he did in this movie, but he is a bit reclusive and he does not really provide those answers. I wonder how much Leithart's Christian views are being read into Malick's story, but I suspect Malick is fine with us reading it however we want.

[Nate Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting. I think that Leithart's take on Terrence Malick is great, though with any piece of fiction, and especially with a movie, it's always hazarding theories to tell people what he's about. If Dr. Leithart is right, Malick has made an unparalleled film, and one that merits watching, even if it's not one's cup of tea.

However, this book did not leave me with a knockout confirmation that the opposite take on The Tree of Life (i.e. that Malick made it up as he went along and left behind an inchoate mess of a movie) was false.

[John Coatney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice series of theological meditations on an incredible movie. I found it really helpful in pointing out aspects of the film that I'd missed. It's brevity makes it a resource that I will likely return to multiple times.

[nate]

A series of essays looking at different themes and images from one of my favorite films, Tree of Life. While I think Leithart might be stretching a few of his interpretations, overall this helped me appreciate the film more and was very enjoyable to read.

[Tyrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful exegesis of a beautiful film

[Thomas Christianson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid considerations of a deeply philosophical film.

[Ezekiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Sometimes a hose is just a hose; sometimes a staircase is just a staircase." He said it. Nice.

Tree of Life is a thoughtful and slow film. People had warned me to not watch it looking for a relaxing evening. However instead of Jurassic Park violence evoking, da-dum, the PROBLEM OF EVIL to bear, the film turned out to be more even-handed than that, as expansive as reality and more human than I could have imagined. Those that mock the film as over-symbolic nerd-critic-fare have got a decent point, but there should be more films with this sort of acting and this sort of cinematography. It feels like a home-movie without drawing attention to itself. If it were a story , people would take notice. This is truly anti-escapism.

That said, the movie was better than the book. Perhaps Leithart's shortest book at under 100 pages the book still seems too long, repeating again and again, much like the film, how the death of the boy in the pool calls God's goodness into question. Job. Check. Augustine. Check. Gratuitous Symbolism. Check, check, check!!! The problem seems to be the expansiveness of Mallick's film. Malick shows instead of telling. Yes, there is some manipulation, but he doesn't use enough dialogue to force users to decide on what he's specifically saying. Not bad, but the right response is to glory in how transparently things--trees, birds, water, fire--are presented, instead of trying to decode them into a theology. I'm not opposed to Leithart's readings, but when he moves from noticing connections and decoding them as primal symbols to particular theologies, Malick fades out of the picture and Leithart's own idiosyncratic Biblicism, philosophy, and sacramentalism starts to emerge. And the connection between the two is more than a little strained.

Also, the sentimentalism flaws the film and it's evocation of Job and Augustine. Still, we need more films with Augustine in them. Less explosions and more trees.

[Garrett Cash · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I finally saw Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life last month it quickly became one of my all time favorite films. It was like an (actually better) Christian response to Kubrick's cold 2001. I did some research on whether there was any good writings on the film and found this little book by Peter J. Leithart which examines the film with a theological eye. Just what I was looking for! The book, while extremely short, did not disappoint at all, and is a highly satisfying examination of the themes and symbolism that pervades Malick's great masterpiece. I'm pretty much the perfect audience for this book because I like to dive into the theological, literary, and philosophical meanings behind my favorite works of art, especially if it deals with Christianity. If you're interested in having some opinions of what the film is saying vindicated or challenged, this is a great book to go to. In addition, you will certainly learn something along the way that you didn't realize before! Not all 88 page books can boast in that!

[Mike Mullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my estimation, this book was a delight to read for many reasons. First it broke down a fascinating movie and let you see how the minute scenes, or clips fit into the whole. It would relate the various motifs that come at such a rapid pace to the one theme. It would describe how the musical selections were deliberately chosen to speak beyond the intellect to something deeper. But more than anything, it brought clarity to the many threads which one finds in most families which are here highlighted.

As a piece of art and how to understand it, I felt that I was being taught how to look at a film from a worldview perspective. I ended up wanting to worship the God who is with us all in all of life, especially the suffering parts. Thank-you for writing this book Mr. Leithart.

[Bobbi Martens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tiny book that feels like a big book because it tackles a big movie about huge things (Tree of Life). Insightful, theological, faithful, interesting, and helpful in understanding a gorgeous movie.

[Moses · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer on Malick's film. Leithart digs deep, and comes up with some solid insights. But don't read it unless you have just seen the film or plan to very soon, as his level of detail will be daunting if the film isn't fresh in your mind.

[Luke Stamps · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful evaluation of the greatest film of our time, a stirring theological reflection in its own right, and a suberb example of how to do Christian cultural analysis well. Can't wait to rewatch Malick's masterpiece with Leithart as a guide. 

[Michael Cash · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book exploring the philosophy and theology of Terrence Malick's incredible film, "The Tree of Life." I recommend this book and the film with the highest praise.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like a very good blog.