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Mar 8, 2026
The Tree of Life (Brian Zahnd)
“no one who loves the way of Grace ever comes to a bad end”
Summary
“The movie is a prayer,” says Brian Zahnd, about Terrence Mallick’s 2011 The Tree of Life, his favorite movie of all time. Brian has seen it forty times (I have seen it three times); Brian has taken his pastoral team from his Missouri Church to see it; he has shown it to his Congregation in Church. The film follows a family in Texas in the 1950s. Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain are the parents; they have three sons. Sean Penn plays the oldest boy when he is grown in the 1980s. It’s a sermon on theodicy, creation, eschatology, all of it, all of it. And it’s just very beautiful and interesting. If you’ve not seen it, go see it first, and then come back and talk it over with us!
Another talk with Brian Zahnd about another Terrence Mallick film:
- Brian Zahnd on Almost Good Catholics, episode 92: A Hidden Life: The Life and Martyrdom of Bl. Franz Jägerstätter (1907-1943)
Another talk with Brian Zahnd about his books and his theology:
- Brian Zahnd on Almost Good Catholics, episode 82: The Wood between the Worlds: Why Death on the Cross?
A couple more episode of Almost Good Catholics on related themes:
- Jacob Howland on Almost Good Catholics, episode 65: Idolatry and Idle Hands: From Aaron’s Golden Calf to AI
- Jonathan Fessenden on Almost Good Catholics, episode 58: The Book of Job: Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
- The video of our discussion of The Book of Job on the Missio Dei website and on YouTube
Related Topics
Your Host
Krzysztof Odyniec
Krzysztof Odyniec is a historian of Medieval and Early Modern Europe; he is also the host of the 'Almost Good Catholics' podcast.
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