The Tree of Life

A flickering light, resembling a flame, opens the movie before giving way to a family in Waco, Texas, in the mid-1950s. The O'Briens have three sons and live in a house on the outskirts of town, with a yard presided over by a large oak tree. The eldest, Jack, grows up between his mother's tenderness and his father's sternness, a man convinced he must teach his son to face a hostile world. As the brothers play and explore the neighborhood, Jack begins to notice that his father's lessons don't match what he feels. The camera moves through the household's routine at a slow pace, and the mother appears as the emotional refuge for the children.