The Tree of Life Reviews

[Volterra's] affinity for Italian stereotypes is countered with delightful truculence by the film's most engaging character, her down-to-earth octogenarian aunt Viviana.

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Ms. Volterra, acting as narrator and interviewee herself, can't seem to resist the urge to be the star of her own film, which too often feels like a wearisome exercise in self-therapy.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Moments of uncommon creativity and poignancy, but often coming dangerously close to crossing the line between biopic and home movies.

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...absorbing, mysterious, lyrical and distinctively titillating...a moody masterpiece that is thrillingly alarming...[a] tale of wandering hedonism and anguish

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

I think Byler is at his best when he directs material he writes on his own, and he's at the top of his game with Tre.

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Byler has a knack for elegant composition, as well as the hazy middle ground between friendship and friendship with a sexual asterisk.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

[Byler] ventures into Douglas Sirk territory with astonishing skill (not an easy task), presenting this potential melodrama with gravity and intelligence.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

A smart and incisive look at contemporary relationships that avoids all the cliches that one might expect to find

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5

If you're looking for fresh, compelling proof that the best training for young actors aspiring to authentic film performances is still the theater, look no further.

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Unlike most indie dramas about rudderless 20-somethings who exorcise their hang-ups by talking and screwing each other to death, Tre is something rare: a perceptive, nonindulgent chamber piece that wrings a little art from that anxious age.

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Tale of a 30ish quartet at personal crossroads in the wealthy, idyllic Santa Monica Mountains sports juicy conflicts and prickly dialogue, though the directorial approach remains judiciously low-key.

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Vivid animation, illustrations and puppetry lighten up interviews and elementary reflections on a personal history of Jews in Italy, better left to a family reunion.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10

It's a sympathetic notion, to be sure, but it leaves one feeling you're on the couch with Volterra, not on a roots quest.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

While Hava probably gained a lot from the experience of making The Tree of Life, the audience will gain demonstrably less.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5

Yet another example of therapy masquerading as documentary.

Full Review | Original Score: .5/4

It's clear why Volterra would have felt driven to make such a film. It's less clear why anyone not related to her would pay to see it.

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A character study about characters I never cared about, Tre features actors whose acting shows. Never for a minute did I buy that the characters they were trying to create were real.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

Smacks of an audition exercise.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

There's a strange sort of vacuousness to Tre, Eric Byler's newest installment on relationships amidst directionless twentysomethings.

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Feels like a vanity project, or worse, like homework.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4