Terrence Malick presents a very abstract story dealing with the various concepts of nature vs. spirituality; while begging the question of where do we fit in with the grand scheme of things. Although the story may seem simple by telling us a tale of three boys growing up in the 1950's, as the eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence, but there's so much more symbolic meaning to this movie than meets the eye...

Almost every civilization from the dawn of history seems to have formed a conceptual framework for such spiritual issues in an attempt to explain and apply logic on them. In modern times, many people have experienced the feeling (or at least that is what they say) of familiarity with certain places, despite the fact that they have never been there before.

"The poem actually emerged from a mild case of “writer’s block.” I was thinking rather loudly that there was nothing. There were no ideas where normally ideas are abundant. This wasn’t a frustrated kind of demand or disappointed expectation, but an awareness, acceptance and reflection that there is nothing and that nothing is all there is. There was an occasional idea, but none with enough energy to fuel the writing of an entire hub! I had the sense that there were ideas “out there” (external) but not “in here” (internal).