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Knight of Cups (film)

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Knight of Cups
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTerrence Malick
Written byTerrence Malick
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEmmanuel Lubezki
Edited by
  • Geoffrey Richman
  • Keith Fraase
  • A. J. Edwards
Music byHanan Townshend
Production
companies
Distributed byBroad Green Pictures
Release dates
  • February 8, 2015 (2015-02-08) (Berlinale)
  • March 4, 2016 (2016-03-04) (United States)
Running time
118 minutes[1][2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$368,274[3]

Knight of Cups is a 2015 American experimental film[4] written and directed by Terrence Malick and produced by Nicolas Gonda and Sarah Green.[5] It stars Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Antonio Banderas, Brian Dennehy, Freida Pinto, Imogen Poots, Isabel Lucas, Teresa Palmer and Wes Bentley. The film premiered in the main competition section at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on February 8, 2015. The film was released on March 4, 2016, in the United States by Broad Green Pictures.[6]

The story in Knight of Cups is loosely inspired by and at times quotes directly from both the 1678 Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, and the passage Hymn of the Pearl from the Acts of Thomas.[7]

The title of the film refers to the tarot card, the Knight of Cups.[8][9]

Plot

A screenwriter living in Los Angeles tries to make sense of the strange events occurring around him. While he's successful in his career, his life feels empty. Haunted by the death of one brother and the dire circumstances of the other, he finds temporary solace in the Hollywood excess that defines his existence. Women provide a distraction to the daily pain he must endure, and every encounter that comes his way brings him closer to finding his place in the world.[10]

The film is divided into eight chapters, plus a prologue, each loosely based around the central character Rick's relationship with somebody in his life. Every chapter is named after a tarot card (as is the title of the film), except for the final chapter Freedom.

I. The Moon - Della (Imogen Poots), a rebellious young woman.

II. The Hanged Man - His brother Barry (Wes Bentley) and father Joseph (Brian Dennehy).

III. The Hermit - Tonio (Antonio Banderas), an amoral playboy.

IV. Judgement - His physician ex-wife Nancy (Cate Blanchett).

V. The Tower - Helen (Freida Pinto), a serene model.

VI. The High Priestess - Karen (Teresa Palmer), a spirited, playful stripper.

VII. Death - Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), a woman he wronged in the past.

VIII. Freedom - Isabel (Isabel Lucas), an innocent who helps him see a way forward.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

In November 2011, it was announced Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale and Isabel Lucas had been cast in the film, with Terrence Malick directing the film.[11] It was also announced the film would be-shot-back-to-back with Weightless, with production beginning in 2012.[11]

Filming

Production on the film began in June 2012, and lasted nine weeks.[12][13] Throughout filming Isabel Lucas, Wes Bentley, Christian Bale, and Teresa Palmer were spotted filming.[14][15] Although, a script was written Bale received no pages from it, while other cast members such as Wes Bentley, and Joel Kinnamon did.[16][17] [18] During production, Malick would use a process called "Torpedoing", where a character from the cast is thrown into a scene, while the other actors have no idea the character would be in the scene.[19][20]

Post-production

The film spent two years in post-production.[21] Post-production on the film consisted of a small group of editors in the beginning and widened throughout.[22]

Release

In May 2013, the first image from the film was released featuring Portman and Bale.[21] The film premiered in the main competition section at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on February 8, 2015.[23] Shortly after, Broad Green Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film.[24] The film had its American premiere at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on February 7, 2016.[25] The film was released in the United States on March 4, 2016.[26] In the United Kingdom, the film will be released on May 6, 2016.[27]

Reception

Knight of Cups has received mixed reviews from critics.[28] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 48% approval rating based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6 out of 10.[29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[28]

Justin Chang of Variety called the film "flawed but fascinating" and a "feverish plunge into the toxic cloud of decadence" as Malick offers a "corrosive critique of Hollywood hedonism".[30] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said that the "resolutely poetic and impressionist" film "conveys most bracingly [the] fleeting nature of human exchange", but the end result "is a certain tedium and repetitiveness along with the rhythmic niceties and imaginative riffs... this one mostly operates on a more dramatically mundane, private and even narcissistic level [than The Tree of Life]".[31] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com highly praised the film, giving it four out of four stars, acknowledging how the film would be "impenetrable and intolerable" for audiences, but then emphasizing how Malick is very unique in terms of his disregard for film conventions, stating that "Knight of Cups is not a young man's movie. It's an old man's movie. A philosophically engaged, beatific, starchild-as-old-man's movie."[32]

Cate Blanchett's performance in the film was listed as one of the 15 best performances in a Terrence Malick film.[33]

References

  1. ^ "KNIGHT OF CUPS (15)". British Board of Film Classification. March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  2. ^ "Terrence Malick's 'Knight of Cups' Gets a Long Synopsis and a Runtime". February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "Knight of Cups". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  4. ^ Smith, Nigel M (February 8, 2015). "Berlin: Christian Bale and Natalie Portman on Making 'Knight of Cups' With Terrence Malick". Indiewire. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  5. ^ "Knight of Cups (2014) - Cast and Crew". allmovie.com. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  6. ^ McNary, Dave. "Christian Bale's 'Knight of Cups' Gets March Release Date". Variety. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  7. ^ "Berlin Film Review: 'Knight of Cups'". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  8. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (February 8, 2015). "Berlin 2015 review: Knight of Cups – Malick's back! With the least interesting spiritual crisis in history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  9. ^ migration. "Terrence Malick's Hollywood odyssey Knight of Cups sets Berlin fest alight". The Straits Times. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  10. ^ Han, Angie (February 2, 2015). "Terrence Malick's 'Knight of Cups' Sounds Very, Very Terrence Malick-y". Slash Film.
  11. ^ a b Lodderhose, Diane (November 1, 2011). "Bale, Blanchett to star in two Terrence Malick pics". Variety.com. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  12. ^ Brooks, Brian (March 4, 2016). "Christian Bale Prowls L.A. In Terrence Malick's 'Knight Of Cups'; 'The Wave' Rushes In: Specialty Preview". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  13. ^ Goldberg, Matt (June 27, 2012). "Freida Pinto and Wes Bentley Spotted in New Set Photos from Terrence Malick's KNIGHT OF CUPS". Collider.com. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  14. ^ Dew, Blake. "Teresa Palmer Joins Terrence Malick's Knight Of Cups". WeGotThisCovered.com. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  15. ^ Martin, Nick (June 12, 2012). "Imogen Poots Spotted Shooting KNIGHT OF CUPS". Filmofilia.com. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  16. ^ Roddick, Nick (December 3, 2015). "Christian Bale: I have moments when I feel like Hollywood is the most horrible industry". London Evening Standard. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  17. ^ "http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/03/wes-bentley-terrence-malick-knight-cups". Entertainment Weekly. March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  18. ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (February 11, 2014). "Joel Kinnaman Says He Shot One Day On 'Knight Of Cups' And Had A 17-Page Monologue". Indiewire.com. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  19. ^ Jaugernauth, Kevin (June 3, 2013). [Teresa Palmer Talks "Torpedo"-ing Christian Bale On Terrence Malick's 'Knight Of Cups' "Teresa Palmer Talks "Torpedo"-ing Christian Bale On Terrence Malick's 'Knight Of Cups'"]. Indiewire.com. Retrieved March 4, 2016. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  20. ^ Ritman, Alex (February 8, 2015). "Berlin: Christian Bale on Terrence Malick "Torpedoing" Him on 'Knight of Cups'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  21. ^ a b McClintock, Pamela (May 15, 2013). "Cannes First Look: Terrence Malick's 'Knight of Cups' With Natalie Portman". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  22. ^ Brooks, Brian (March 4, 2016). "Christian Bale Prowls L.A. In Terrence Malick's 'Knight Of Cups'; 'The Wave' Rushes In: Specialty Preview". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  23. ^ "Berlinale 2015: Malick, Dresen, Greenaway and German in Competition". www.berlinale.de. December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  24. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (February 12, 2015). "Broad Green Confirms Terrence Malick Deal Starting With 'Knight Of Cups' – Update". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  25. ^ McNary, Dave (January 12, 2016). "Christian Bale's 'Knight of Cups' Set for U.S. Premiere at Santa Barbara Festival". Variety.com. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  26. ^ "Terrence Malick's 'Knight of Cups' Won't Get U.S. Release Until 2016; 'Weightless' to Be Retitled". The Film Stage. June 20, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  27. ^ "Studio Canal Slate :: Home". Studio Canal Slate. Optimum Releasing, Ltd. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  28. ^ a b "Knight of Cups". Metacritic. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  29. ^ "Knight of Cups". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  30. ^ Chang, Justin (February 8, 2015). "Berlin Film Review: 'Knight of Cups'". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  31. ^ McCarthy, Todd (February 8, 2015). "'Knight of Cups': Berlin Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  32. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (March 4, 2016). "Knight of Cups Movie Review & Film Summary (2016)". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital, LLC. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  33. ^ Kiang, Jessica (March 3, 2016). "The 15 Best Performances In Terrence Malick Films". Indiewire.com. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
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