imperfection is perfection
Sporadic film reviews by a wanna-be filmmaker
KNIGHT OF CUPS [2015]
Directed and Written by Terrence Malick
Starring: Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Teresa Palmer, Imogen Poots, Cate Blanchett
To say that Knight of Cups is a unique film is a massive understatement, though not too surprising considering it is a Terrence Malick film. The style of the film at first feels confused; to begin with random shots follow one after another, and for the first 15 or so minutes not a word is spoken. The visuals though look amazing. After this introduction we begin to follow Rick (Christian Bale), who looks apathetic and confused. Was the introduction to the film intended to reflect this confusion? Truth be told, it is quite hard to connect all the dots.
This then is certainly a film that warrants a second watch, but is this a good thing?
Almost all the dialogue are internal thoughts of Bale and the people he interacts with; his brother, his father, his wife and countless other female companions. This internal dialogue sometimes overlaps what the characters are saying; this is a film that truly puts the viewer in the shoes of each character. There isn’t a single conventional conversation throughout the entire movie, rather, we follow the thoughts of each character, and the way this dialogue is handled creates a vacuum, a hypnotic quality that grabbed me and didn’t let go until the credits rolled. This film is just under two hours long but it sure felt shorter than that.
Knight of Cups is more than a film, it is an experience.
Back to the internal dialogue though; you will either like it or hate it. I cannot see much middle ground. Whether it is Bale or one of the many people he interacts with, this dialogue consists of murmuring and loud whispers; this is what sucked me into the film. I may not have understood what was happening half the time, but I was entertained and hypnotised by the tone used for these internal thoughts. The whole approach to conversation and dialogue is extremely unique; I can’t say I have seen anything close to what this movie presents.
If the hypnotic introduction and the way conversations are handled don’t suck you in, then this will probably bore you to death. I heard many yawns among the audience. Did they not know who was directing? Don’t come into this looking for a story either, as there isn’t one. At all. We follow Bale for the duration, trying to make sense of what we are hearing and seeing. I again cannot stress how different this movie sounds thanks to its approach of listening to the thoughts of characters rather than their conversations. This paired with a minimalist soundtrack creates an incredible atmosphere.
Enough about how this sounds, let’s talk about how it looks shall we? It seems Malick has been bitten by the found footage bug, though the way it is used here is such a far cry from other films using the technique that I hesitate to label the style used here as found footage. The camera effectively becomes an unseen character at times as it follows the characters, utilising close up shots many times, almost uncomfortably close. Throughout the film the visuals occasionally detract from the story, if you can call it that, as we see many beautiful landscape shots. There is no doubt that this is a beautiful looking film, though it may not be to everyone’s taste.
Since the film simply follows Bale around for its entirety, I suppose I should try to make sense of it all. After some contemplation, it seems clear to me that the theme that is explored throughout the movie is choice, and how we interact with each other. We can choose to be monogamous or otherwise; Rick emphatically chooses the latter. We can choose how we treat people, especially close family. We can choose to live in the moment, or to live in the past. And we can choose to be whoever we want to be on any given day, as is said to Rick at one point: “Each day, you can be any person you want. Don’t forget that”.
I don’t doubt there are more mysteries hidden within the film, meaning I’ll probably see this again soon. This is almost impossible to score given how different it is, and I can’t say I could recommend it. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if Malick tends to choose style over substance. Ignore the bad reviews and bad ratings and go see this yourself to make your own decision, as it is a one-of-a-kind film.
34 Comments on “KNIGHT OF CUPS [2015]”
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imperfection is perfection 
I have seen the film many times until now (even if it is still not released in France, only on November 25), thanks to Berlin and Deauville festival screening.
And no, if it can reassure you, it is not style over substance.
There are strong philosophical references very very well hidden in the film, a long essay I have written on them will be published in France in some weeks. I hope to translate it in the coming weeks in English (if you are interrested)
(As usual, sorry for the bad English 😉 )
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Your English is great! Thanks for reading 🙂
I’d love to read your thoughts on this flick once its translated, where can I read it?
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IT sounds very much like full-on Malick. I huge admirer of his style and one of my Top Ten films of all time is Malick’s The Thin Red Line. Its safe to say that I know what to expect when I enter into one of his film but his last one, To A Wonder, I thought was absolutely dreadful. I’m hoping he’s back on form with this. Great review, man!
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Thanks for the kind words Mark! 🙂 I haven’t seen To A Wonder, so I can’t really say if he’s back in form. But like I say in the review, watching this film is an experience. Beautifully shot, with a lot of philosophical meat to chew on. I’ll probs see it again soon
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It’s the philosophical angle that I love most about Malick. He certainly gets the old noodle working and I love his ethereal approach too. Can’t wait to catch up with this and I believe he’s got another one coming soon after it.
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What I heard is that his next one takes Brad Pitt’s character from The Tree of Life and expands it into a full movie. I haven’t seen that flick so I dunno if it’ll be a dud or not. Plus I only heard this from a fellow patron at the cinema, so who knows if its true
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Interesting! I hadn’t heard that but I do remember hearing that The Tree of Life was actually two films that Malick decided to make into one. I love that film. Again, it polarised audiences but I thought it was a near masterpiece.
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I must get myself a copy of that. After loving this one I’m really motivated to buy his older stuff
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Yeah, The Thin Red Line and The Tree of Life are certainly two of his best. Both 5 star movies for me!
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I’ve seen the first but not the latter. Must change that
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You must! It’s quite an experience! 🙂
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And yeah , he certainly does get the old noodle cranking!!
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I thought To the Wonder was awful too. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything else of Malick’s that I’ve seen.
The Knight of Cups is a tarot card and I’m interested to see how that relates to the film.
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I don’t know the meaning of that card, but as far as I saw there was only one scene involving tarot cards. That card in particular probably relates to the entire film, I just don’t know what it means
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You’re thoughts echo my own, Ashley. I’m huge fan of Malick and he hadn’t made a bad film until To The Wonder. I really couldn’t connect with that at all. Excuse the shameless plug on Jordan’s site but this was my take on it, if you’re interested…
https://markedmovies.org/2014/05/05/to-the-wonder/
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You are right in saying Malick’s movies are to be experienced. I liked seeing Tree of Life in Theaters but understand why many couldn’t get behind it either. The fact that all the dialogue is internal is very interesting and I’m curious what Malick would do with a found footage genre like you said for certain shots. Hopefully I will get to see this in theaters
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I hope you do get to see it on a big screen. It looks amazing. And yeah, the way the dialogue is done is something I have never seen before. Its hypnotic
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OH lord another Terrence Mallick that needs to be seen and reseen just to be understood!
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Hehehe yup, and I’m not sure if two viewings would be enough. Such a hard film to score, its just so different
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I love Mallick–you may scratch your head, but I appreciate the experiences he provides and I can’t wait to watch this! What a cast! Very nice post.
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Thanks Cindy! 🙂 And yeah, it is an experience watching this movie that is for sure!!
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I can’t wait to get to this.
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I’d be interested to hear what you take from it Tom. It is insanely ambiguous, each person will get something different from it
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Absolutely cannot wait to see this, it sounds fascinating. Great write-up Jordan!
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Thanks Anna! It sure is fascinating, I hope you enjoy it!
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Excellent review Jordan, sounds very dream like in the visuals.
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Dream like is a good way to describe it. Very surreal. Especially when the dialogue is almost always the thoughts of the characters rather than what they are actually saying
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Malick tends to do a lot of that in the movies I’ve seen of his, visuals tell the story a lot.
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Yeah I really need to catch up on his filmography. I have only seen Badlands and The Thin Red Line aaaages ago
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I need to catch up on his work too.
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“Knight of Cups is more than a film, it is an experience.” That’s pretty much what you can say about Terrence Malick’s films. I have a feeling some people will hate this one but I for one can’t wait to see it!! I read that there was no script for this film and so the actors simply had to improvise as Malick only told them who their characters are. It’s just crazy but I’d think it’s kind of a unique experience for the actors to be involved. Great review man, jealous that you have seen this already.
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That is crazy, I didn’t know that. And I couldn’t tell either, most of the dialogue is very good. Hope you get to see it soon! And I’m with you, this film will have a fair share of haters, which is often a good thing. A lot of people hated Jauja but it was in my top ten last year
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I have very mixed sentiments towards Malick. Love some of his films, despise others. My biggest problem with some of his latest work is that he concentrates too much on visual imagery and the lack of dialogue often leaves me feeling emotionally unsatisfied.
I will still be seeing it though.
And great review mate! Always a pleasure to read what you’ve written.
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Thanks Khalid, appreciate the kind words. I haven’t seen a ton of Malick’s work but what you’ve said seems to be the general opinion. I’d have to agree with you after seeing this one, though I’m a sucker for good visuals
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