Title: To The Wonder

Rating/Synopsis: So, I have two ratings for this film. If you like the process of film making, production, location, lighting, cinematography and all of those bits, then this film deserves a 5/5. Now, if you like a solid story with a well developed plot, lots of dialogue, conflict resolution, and other things like that, this film scores a solid 2/5. True to form, this is an excellent example of Terrence Malick’s work-GORGEOUS shots, incredible color palette, intriguing premise, phenomenal cast, etc. Rather than a movie, I would describe this as a cinematic opera. The two main characters fall in love in Europe and move back to Oklahoma, where the male protagonist is from, and the story goes from there. Javier Bardem’s character is by far the most intriguing and as usual, his performance is haunting. I absolutely admire him because he acts to his full ability, no matter what role or part he is playing.  I grew up in Oklahoma and visited the Tall Grass Prairie where several scenes of this movie were filmed, so I absolutely loved those shots. This is a serious, artful movie, so if that isn’t your scene then I would skip it. It’s like watching a beautifully shot and star-studded documentary, set to low audio. I had high hopes for this one, visually they were met, but otherwise it was a major disappointment.

Year: 2012

Country/Language: U.S.-English

Stars: Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams

Where to watch: Netflix