Terrence Malick, pursuing life's imperfections

CANNES, France - The winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year is only the fifth film in 38 years by Terrence Malick, a reclusive director who has not given an interview since the 1970s.

"The Tree of Life" has big stars, celestial spectacles and digital dinosaurs, but it is no one's idea of a summer blockbuster. Even more elliptical than Mr. Malick's previous two films, "The Thin Red Line" (1998) and "The New World" (2005), the film tells the story of a 1950s Texas family (the parents are played by Brad Pitt and the newcomer Jessica Chastain) whose oldest son grows up to be a morose Sean Penn. But it also tackles, metaphysically speaking, the origins of life and the history of the universe.

It's safe to assume that this project is also, for its fiercely private auteur, deeply personal. Some aspects correspond with the morsels of biography that have surfaced over the years: the Texas childhood, a strict father, the death of a brother. "I was shocked by how personal the story was when I first read it," said the production designer Jack Fisk, who has known Mr. Malick since they were film students. "But when I watched the film I just think how universal it is."