Trailer For Terrence Malick’s ‘Knight Of Cups’ Released, How Weird Is It? [VIDEO]
Say what you will about Terrence Malick films (The New World, The Tree Of Life, To The Wonder), they may not be the most mainstream of fare but they are very much distinctly Terrence Malick films, above all else. With the recent release of the trailer for his latest film, Knight Of Cups, Malick is definitely still retaining his title of auteur. Check out the trailer above, if you haven’t already.
In Knight Of Cups, starring Christian Bale, Malick looks to be tackling the excesses of the extreme Hollywood lifestyle. From what we can gather, Christian Bale’s character, Rick, seems none too fulfilled by this empty way of living. He seems to be in search of his purpose in life apart from partying it away. So where does the title Knight Of Cups come into play? We take a look at the film’s official synopsis from Deadline for the answer.
“Once there was a young prince whose father, the king of the East, sent him down into Egypt to find a pearl. But when the prince arrived, the people poured him a cup. Drinking it, he forgot he was the son of a king, forgot about the pearl and fell into a deep sleep. Rick’s father used to read this story to him as a boy. The road to the East stretches out before him. Will he set forth?”
A cryptic synopsis, to say the least. Purely metaphorical in nature, it seems closer to a simple poem than a piece of ad copy designed to sell a film. What does it all mean in reference to the film? The folks at Slate have a couple plausible theories about how this fable fits as a synopsis to Malick’s Knight Of Cups film. They suggest the pearl is a soul-searching goal of sorts. Perhaps the lead’s father had led him on a path, and along the way, he merely succumbed to the drink the people of Hollywood gave him. Slate‘s second theory revolves around tarot cards.
“The ‘Knight of Cups’ is a tarot card, and, according to tarot guides, ‘the Knight of Cups brings a warning about getting too caught up in fantasy and the romanticism of life. Fantasy excites but it lacks any real meaning as you deny your basic commitment to the world and your imagination produces nothing.'”
These two theories are likely not mutually exclusive, meaning there can be large kernels of truth from both.
Terrence Malick’s Knight Of Cups stars Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, and Natalie Portman. It is currently slated to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2015, and will likely have a limited theatrical release thereafter. Does Malick’s introspective film interest you? Let us know below!
[Images Credit: FilmNation Entertainment, Learn Tarot]
