Badlands

Malick lyrically trivialises American myths of freedom, rebellious outlaws and young love, and stands them up face to face with the baseness of violence and the immensity of the universe. His poem of impermanence is built on unspectacular contrasts – the emptiness of icons in comparison with eternity, the surfeit of meaningless words against the silent, dazzling glare of the world, cruelty without malice, the fading effort to make one’s mark on history against the apathetic indifference of time. The whole film is enveloped by the motif of innocence, or rather naïveté, not only in relation to love, the central characters and their view of the world, but also America itself, protected by unshakable legends that had long since fallen away by the time the film was made. Nevertheless, Malick strove to imbue the film with a dreamlike timelessness untethered from a particular era, even though it relates to time in many of its details and storylines. Similarly, in spite of the fact that it attempts to deromantisise and go beyond all of the legends of lovers on the run in a spiral of violence, Badlands itself paradoxically became a myth on which other such stories were founded and were also outright defined by the period – this is especially true of a pair of films written by Tarantino, namely Natural Born Killers and True Romance (the latter of which explicitly quotes Malick’s film in its musical motif). On the other hand, Malick – who dedicated his work to expressing identical motifs through different stories – knows very well that some stories cannot help but be repeated and thus prove their timeless relevance. (17/04/2023)

Another self-absorbed romantic statement about a mass murderer, and a film not unlike the farce called Bonnie & Clyde. Sure, we can call it neo-noir and pretend that Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek weren't too old for their roles. The backdrop of the North Dakota-Montana area is of course engaging, but as a celebration of Charles Starkweather (1938-1959) and Caril Ann Fugate (*1943), it is toxic. Fortunately, it is just one film from a series inspired by works responding to the pathological need to perceive murderers as cool people: The Sadist (1963), Badlands (1973), Stark Raving Mad (1981), Kalifornia (1993), Murder in the Heartland (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), The Frighteners (1996), and Starkweather (2004). (11/03/2024)

Now that's what I call a debut! If anyone else had made this story, it would probably have been just another, slightly bloodier variation on Bonnie and Clyde, but Terrence Malick, of course, did his own thing with it. Rather than killing, feelings of guilt and the like, it emphasizes the relationship between two people, the different forms of love and the connection with nature (the passages with living in the forest and driving through the wilderness are magnificent) and the separation from civilization. He lets the actors act in such a way that you don't even think they are acting, and he manages to top it all off with a great car chase. A clear five stars. (24/07/2011)

Undoubtedly an exceptional debut where Malick immediately shows his greatness. False fatality, violence, the desire to live and do as one pleases, to get closer to nature and ancient human instincts. Sheen excels, Spacek needs only stand there watching amusingly to imbue her naive, blindly pacing character with sufficient verve and conviction. The course of the story is easy to predict, but the pleasure is nonetheless unique thanks to Malick's visual imagination and the beautifully integrated soundtrack. (19/09/2016)

When a movie is based on real events, I anticipate some modifications to the plot. However, in this case, the writer concocted an entirely new story that bore very little resemblance to reality. Perhaps it was because the true tale of Charles Raymond Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate was far more gruesome than romantic, and for some reason, people tend to romanticize criminals. As the script took this new direction, the film lost any semblance of narrative value for me. I found myself quite bored during the endless road trips through semi-desert landscapes, making it feel like a wasted viewing experience. However, I will give credit where it's due: some shots of the sunset were beautifully done, and Martin Sheen certainly put in the effort. / Lesson learned: Enamored by criminals? Imagine something like that happening to your loved ones. (26/03/2022)

I have to admit that even though I'm not a big fan of Terrence Malick because his approach to film, especially in the context of what he has made in recent years, simply didn't click with me, his film from 1973 made an impression on me. The great performances, which are supported by a good screenplay and interesting film elements. (02/09/2015)