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Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2011: Terrence Malick’s Tree of LIfe

I’m more excited about this 2 minute trailer than a good portion of the films on this Top 100 list. I’m not alone in being grateful that the year’s best film might be coming out mid-year this year, but how could this not be the most anticipated film of the year? For the record: it was in our number 1 spot last year. Stay tuned folks.

Eric Lavallée

Published on January 18, 2011

#02. Tree of Life

Director/Writer: Terrence Malick
Producers: Dede Gardner, Sarah Green, Grant Hill and William Pohlad
Distributor: Fox Searchlight

The Gist: This follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.….(more)

Cast: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Fiona Shaw, Joanna Going and Jessica Chastain

List Worthy Reasons…: I’m more excited about this 2 minute trailer than a good portion of the films on this Top 100 list. I’m not alone in being grateful that the year’s best film might be coming out mid-year this year, but how could this not be the most anticipated film of the year? For the record: it was in our number 1 spot last year. Stay tuned folks.

Release Date/Status?: Cannes 2011. Fox releases this on May 27th.

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Eric Lavallée

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).