“The Tree of Life” DVD Extras Treat Terrence Malick Like a Shaman

Terrence Malick (as always on The Projector, shown here as actress Wendy Malick) is a visionary director, an uncompromising artist and a true American original. He is, however, not a divine oracle, or some sort of otherworldly supernatural figure put here to give meaning to the lives of us tiny, worthless humans. We sometimes worry that the reason Malick is so revered by the creative community has less to do with his challenging films, and more with legitimate awe that a creative person wouldn't want to spend his time being photographed and told how wonderful he is. Why would a person not want that? He's like a monk!

There's more Malick-as-shaman pseudo-religion on "The Tree of Life" Blu-Ray DVD, which comes out October 11. Entertainment Weekly has a video of Jessica Chastain, who speaks of Malick as if he were a deity dispensing nuggets of ethereal wisdom, as opposed to another human being like the rest of us, who sleeps and poops and worries about the recent preponderance of ear hairs. Chastain can't believe this man is talking to her, giving her advice, learning about her ... you know, the things a film director does. At the end of the interview, you'd think she was talking about E.T., or an abandoned puppy she just discovered is able to speak.

The story ends with "No other director is as mysterious to film-lovers as Malick. But when you meet him, he is more likely to ask all about you." This is not a strange thing for a director to do: This is the job, after all. But as part of the Malick-as-Dalai-Lama narrative that has taken over -- and begun to overshadow his films -- it's a perfect mission statement. That is sounds like something that came out of a fortune cookie is all the more proof. If we were Malick, we'd stay away from all this junk too.

Secretive 'Tree of Life' director revealed in edges of Blu-ray doc [Entertainment Weekly]