Terrence Malick's 'To the Wonder' headed to theaters - Los Angeles Times
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Terrence Malick’s ‘To the Wonder’ headed to theaters

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Get ready for a new branch in “The Tree of Life” debate.

Magnolia Pictures said Friday morning it had acquired “To the Wonder,” Terrence Malick’s follow-up to ‘Tree,” and will release it theatrically next year. The move concludes a month-long period in which distributors had vacillated on a picture that had divided audiences at the Venice and Toronto International Film festivals.

Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles called “Wonder” a “romantic, haunting and beautiful film that will be endlessly rewarding for movie lovers.”

Starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko and Rachel McAdams, the film tells a largely wordless story of a love affair’s origins and undoing. The Oklahoman Neil (Affleck) and Parisian Marina (Kurylenko) begin a passionate affair while Neil is visiting France, then continue it back in his home state. But the bloom soon fades under the glare of time and infidelity.

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While the story is linear, much of it is conveyed via images and music rather than conventional dialog, leading to bemusement and pans from some filmgoers; others argued that it was a lyrical meditation on love and spirituality.

Distributors were divided too. Fox Searchlight, which turned “Tree” into an art-house event, was believed to be more ambivalent on the picture, while distributor IFC was thought interested.

Whether “Wonder” will be received as well as “Tree”--which grossed $13 million in the U.S. and was nominated for best picture--remains to be seen. Though there are stylistic and other similarities, that movie swept into theaters after years of anticipation and a buzzed-about Cannes Film Festival premiere.

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ALSO:

‘To The Wonder’ frustrates Toronto audiences, but should it?

Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams see the ‘Wonder’ in Terrence Malick

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