Come March, Christian Bale will be in the throes of an existential crisis in Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups, and today’s new teaser showcases a fleeting glimpse of his odyssey across Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Toplining the auteur’s latest work as Rick, Bale’s disillusioned screenwriter is going through the mid-life crisis to end all mid-life crises. Boasting all of the stylized quirks synonymous with Malick’s work – graceful cinematography, hushed voiceovers and a tormented protagonist – today’s all-too-brief clip is likely laying the groundwork for the release of a new trailer, though we firmly believe we’ve seen just enough Knight of Cups to sate our appetite until the film’s anticipated bow.
Emerging from two-years of post-production, Malick’s latest experimental release initially screened for critics during last year’s Berlin film festival, and it’s poised to make a return to the German capital in only a few weeks’ time. Looking beyond its premiere, Broad Green has acquired distribution rights for the drama, and we’re now edging closer and closer to being introduced to the fabled Knight of Cups.
Having assembled a tantalizing ensemble in Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Brian Dennehy, Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Wes Bentley, Isabel Lucas, Teresa Palmer, Cherry Jones, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Imogen Poots, Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups will make its second bow at the Berlin film festival, before finally making its way to theaters on March 4.
Rick is a slave to the Hollywood system. He is addicted to success but simultaneously despairs at the emptiness of his life. He is at home in a world of illusions but seeks real life. Like the tarot card of the title, Rick is easily bored and needs outside stimulation. But the Knight of Cups is also an artist, a romantic and an adventurer. In Terrence Malick’s seventh film a gliding camera once again accompanies a tormented hero on his search for meaning. Once again a voiceover is laid over images which also seek their own authenticity.
And once again Malick seems to put the world out of joint. His symphonic flow of images contrasts cold, functional architecture with the ageless beauty of nature. Rick’s internal monologue coalesces with the voices of the women who cross his path, women who represent different principles in life: while one lives in the real world, the other embodies beauty and sensuality. Which path will Rick choose? In the city of angels and the desert that surrounds it, will he find his own way?