Life Above the Clouds

Steven DeLay is Research Fellow at the Global Center for Advanced Studies. His many books include Everything; Faint Not: Twelve Brief Meditations on the Word of God; In the Spirit: A Phenomenology of Faith; Before God: Exercises in Subjectivity; and Phenomenology in France: A Philosophical and Theological Introduction.

"…the collection reveals a robust postsecular moment in Malick scholarship, as religious and secular approaches to Malick interpolate with one another as a matter of keenly felt necessity … if Life Above the Clouds represents the future of Malick scholarship, then Malick scholarship has settled into a riveting new stride." — Australasian Journal of American Studies"…Life Above the Clouds keeps its sights trained on big ideas … Its authors draw upon a wide array of philosophical traditions to offer interesting reflections on a variety of subjects that appear in Malick's work." — Film-Philosophy"…this diverse volume stands out as one of the more thought-provoking anthologies on Malick as a filmmaker. In Life Above the Clouds: Philosophy in the Films of Terrence Malick, DeLay curates both established and emerging Malick contributors who keenly prove that illuminating conversations surrounding his work keep us returning to Malick with fresh takes and passionate inquiries." — Philosophical Quarterly"After Hitchcock, the 'Hollywood auteur' long seemed oxymoronic. What allowed Terrence Malick to break through? Not his renowned genius for casting, nor even his unrivaled cinematography (which blurs the Kantian line between beauty and sublimity), but rather, in a word, his philosophy. As these essays so compellingly illuminate, Malick uses film to philosophize; his films are philosophy carried out in another medium; indeed, he is the filmic philosopher par excellence. Others are now catching up (the later Sheridan, the Smith brothers, Hawley at his deepest), but Malick opened the field and set the terms with which the greatest Hollywood auteurs continue to negotiate. To understand why, and how, start by reading this book." — Iain D. Thomson, author of Heidegger, Art, and Postmodernity "This strong collection engages the spiritual, even mystical, elements of Malick's profoundly moving cinema. In their own distinct ways, these chapters bring a fresh new perspective to our understanding of one of the world's most important living filmmakers." — John Caruana, coeditor of Immanent Frames: Postsecular Cinema between Malick and von Trier"This is an exceptionally rich, creative, and intriguing study of Malick and his imprint on the world of filmmaking that provides a unique philosophical lens through which such iconic filmmakers can be viewed. Each essay is a unique and well-crafted contribution to a collective whole that reflects the vision of a young and vibrant scholar who adds a much needed and pioneering voice to film studies. In short, Life Above the Clouds is a gem that deserves a prominent place in the contemporary dialogues that lie at the intersection of philosophy, film, the auteur, and the many surrounding forces." — Leo Zonn, editor of Place Images in Media: Portrayal, Experience, and Meaning"Life above the Clouds is a rare collection: a series of essays about a filmmaker that are resolutely philosophical yet never lose sight of the intricacies, pleasures, and appeals of the films themselves. The essays range across Malick's career, providing original interpretations of his films while shining light on the way broader philosophical and spiritual preoccupations are deployed in and through this original and unique body of work." — Daniel R. Morgan, author of The Lure of the Image: Epistemic Fantasies of the Moving Camera

• List of Films Directed by Terrence MalickList of IllustrationsPrefaceRobert SinnerbrinkAcknowledgmentsMalickian Cinema at the Intersection of Art and Philosophy: An IntroductionSteven DeLayPart I. Cinematic Experience as Ethical Reflection and Spiritual Exercise 1. "Find Your Way from Darkness to Light": Cinema as Spiritual ExerciseJonathan Scott Lee2. Terrence Malick's Cosmic CinemaManuel "Mandel" Cabrera Jr.3. "Why Should I Be Good If You Aren't?" The Problem of the Moral World in The Tree of LifeJames D. Reid and Candace R. Craig4. Performativity and Transformative Experience: Terrence Malick's MysticismRico GutschmidtPart II. Mystery, Evil, Creation: Framing the "Big Questions" 5. Life-Time: Mystery in The Tree of LifeDavid R. Cerbone6. Not One Power, But Two: Dark Grounds and Twilit Paradises in MalickJussi Backman7. Tending God's Garden: Philosophical Themes in The Tree of LifeNaomi FisherPart III. Explorations of Image and Voiceover 8. Sotto voce: Inscription as Voiceover in Malick's Days of HeavenFred Rush9. The Melancholic Image in Days of HeavenKeith Jacobs and Jeff Malpas10. Terrence Malick's Ephemeral and Eternal Images: Deleuze, Time-Image, and MontageJames Lorenz11. Malick's Cartesianism, or the Ghost by the MachineEnrico Terrone12. Love Is Smiling through All Things: Jean-Luc Marion, Simone Weil, and the Visual Style of Terrence MalickJoel Mayward13. Let Me Not Pretend: The Promise of Beauty in To the WonderSteven RybinPart IV. The Pursuit of Freedom and Transcendence 14. Platonic Myths of Eros in Knight of Cups and Song to SongMatthew Strohl15. The Alien God Behind the Camera: A Gnostic Viewing of Terrence Malick's Cinema, especially Knight of CupsLee Braver16. A Hidden Life of Love: Sacrifice in Malick's Cinematographic PhilosophyKaterina Koci and Martin Koci17. Bleeding Hearts: Edith Stein, Franz Jägerstätter, and MartyrdomDonald Wallenfang18. Authoritarianism and the Authoritarian Personality: Malick's Tragedy of DisobedienceDavid Benjamin Johnson19. "But I Am Free!" Malick on Freedom and TranscendenceDaniel LaymanList of ContributorsIndex