Tree of Life: artistically liberal

It was a lot to handle.  Characters are used like props in the background, rather than the focus of the scene like I'm used to.  It definitely took me off-guard as I sat through a 20 minute interlude (1/3 of the way into it) of natural photos and scenery set to an opera.  I was never quite sure what I was watching, or what I was learning about... but it was definitive that the piece had a viewpoint.  Yeah, piece rather than film.  It was like watching an installation on the beauty of nature in the M.I.A. (Mpls Institute of Art for those less familiar with the place).  However you classify it, it is not for those who are easily unnerved by the unexpected (there were dinosaurs) or those who expect to see much of Sean Penn or Brad Pitt.
Verdict: uh... yeah, I got nothing (Matinee?!)