In mess and madness, there is often beauty and genius. These are the words editor Conor Bateman uses to describe “Knights of Cups,” Terrence Malick’s latest film — a movie that he may not love but definitely appreciates. Perhaps more polarizing than his last film, 2013’s equally-mixed “To the Wonder,” it’s safe to say the new film from the director does not mark his finest hour, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its bright spots and glimmers of brilliance, and those are shown beautifully in Bateman’s latest video, “Terrence Malick’s City Symphony.”
The five-minute essay, edited in the style and format of Malick’s most recent work, is a free-flowing, dialogue-free cinematic re-evaluation of the film’s sweeping, tender beauty — often found in the most delicate and deliberately artistic shots seen inside. Christian Bale, Natalie Portman and Cate Blanchett sometimes appear, but often take a backseat in Bateman’s cut to the LA landscapes, buildings and deserts shot gorgeously-as-always by Malick’s longtime cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki.
As per usual, the three-time Oscar-winning DP proves to be the real star of the film. And while “Knight of Cups” didn’t quite come together for some people (maybe a lot of people) — and it didn’t make a dent at the box office (its domestic box office currently sits around the $550,000 range) — there are small, shining moments of aching beauty to be found in the auteur’s latest. Meant to become a companion piece to the 1921 short film ‘Manhatta,” as the editor writes for Fandor, Bateman gives Malick the chance to make the visual poem he believes the “Badlands” director should have created in the first place. Edited by four separate editors instead of Malick’s trusted slicer Billy Weber, the video maker argues, and I’m paraphrasing, the acclaimed filmmaker’s latest was lost in a shambolic state where it didn’t quite feel connected.
Check out the video essay above.