Terrence Malick, love him or hate him, is an artist. He isn’t a director in the traditional sense. His movies all have a lyrical quality to them and his private life leads many to compare him to Stanley Kubrick. You rarely see Terrence Malick in public aside from the occasional appearance here and there. Overall, the man is very mysterious. So mysterious in fact that we are left to wonder about him as much as his films.
Take, for instance, his film selection for the upcoming “Films on the Lawn” series at the Philbrook Museum of Arts in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Malick is serving as a curator for the museum and chose four movies to be shown. You would think he would pick something astounding and life altering, something unique and poetic, something beyond just simple cinema. Something like ZOOLANDER.
That’s right, Terrence Malick chose Ben Stiller‘s movie about male models as one of four movies to show to audiences at this museum function. Any movie in the world and he chose ZOOLANDER. And to think how many of you think the man has no film knowledge.
Here’s the rundown of his choices:
— “Beat the Devil,” (July 5). Directed by John Huston, this 1953 caper film written by Truman Capote stars Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Gina Lollabrigida and Tulsa native Jennifer Jones.
— “The Lady Eve,” (July 12). Preston Sturges’ 1941 comedy with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.
— “Zoolander” (July 19). Ben Stiller writes, directs and stars in this 2001 comedy about a male model who gets caught up in international intrigue.
— “Badlands” (July 26). Malick’s first film, inspired by the 1950s spree killer Charlie Starkweather, stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek.
Interesting, to say the least. I don’t know why I imagined that Terrence Malick would exclusively watch Criterion Blu-rays or movies in Swedish, but it is nice to know that the guy can enjoy films as well as movies. While it doesn’t seem like there is any chance that Malick will direct a broad comedy like ZOOLANDER, we can rest easy knowing he will not bash them for being lower forms of art. So, for those of you who hate on movies like TREE OF LIFE or THE THIN RED LINE, remember that Malick is just like us, a weirdo in a funny hat who likes all different kinds of movies.
