A tantalizing rumour, never confirmed, spread around Cannes that Thierry Frmaux instructed his jury that if they did not award Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life the Palme d'Or, "history will judge you." De Niro, one surmises from his film career, knows a thing or two about threats. Less than a month after that Palme d'Or, history has already raced to judge Terrence Malick: the critical outpouring on the film has been one that, typical of the Internet age, takes upon itself the consciousness of being an historic event. Indeed, we have all been primed to consider The Tree of Life as more than just another film. And for most critics, it's a win or lose proposition: Is The Tree of Life , to quote one eager blogger, one of the 30 best films ever made, or is it an egocentric disaster, showing all the signs of an artist unchecked? Complicated by the fact that Malick, as is his wont, refuses to speak to the press -- in this case about a film generally assumed to be autobiographical -- it is left to the critical community to discuss the seeming pros and cons, bereft of authorial guidance. But is there anything left to say? Faced with this atypical situation, this unconventional film, and my own conflict regarding its ultimate success, the most appropriate thing I can do is open up the issue for personal testimonies. Allowing for disparate voices on The Tree of Life only seems fitting for a choral