Badlands
d. Terrence Malick, 1973
Terrence Malick's best movie, and one of the key works of the 70s, follows in the same tradition as films like Bonnie and Clyde and more recently Wild at Heart and Natural Born Killers. But what separates Badlands from these other violent road movies is Malick's conviction and eye for beauty. He was 30 when he directed, wrote, and produced this film, and has gone on to make only three other (Days of Heaven in 78, The Thin Red Line in 98, and The New World in 05) since. Badlands follows Kit (Martin Sheen) and Holly (Sissy Spacek) as they make their away across South Dakota to the Badlands of Montana; while killing a few people on the way. Their relationship begins rather innocently, she's a 15 year old who lives with her dad, who moved the family to South Dakota after his wife's death; he's a 25 year old rebel who picks up trash for a living. Both are alienated in one way or another (Holly by her friends at her school, Kit by the adult world), so they find companion, albeit a foolish one, in one another. In a sudden act of violence, Kit kills Holly's father after announcing that he's taking her with him. And then, in one of the most powerful scenes in the film, proceeds to burn down the house while leaving a record with a false confession (We have decided to kill ourselves, the same way I did her dad") playing for the police to find. Kit and Holly then go on to spend some uneventful days driving through the country, bookmarked by several other killings, while the police is continuously on their trail. That Badlands ends with Kit and Holly finally surrendering isn't giving much away; the movie, like the time Kit and Holly spent together, is all about the journey and not the destination.
