The first trailer for Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups is as trippy as anything in The Tree of Life.
The film stars Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Brian Dennehy, Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Wes Bentley, Isabel Lucas, Teresa Palmer, Imogen Poots, Armin Mueller-Stahl and the voice of Ben Kingsley. The official synopsis says everything that's essential about the movie:
"'Once there was a young prince whose father, the king of the East, sent him down into Egypt to find a pearl. But when the prince arrived, the people poured him a cup. Drinking it, he forgot he was the son of a king, forgot about the pearl and fell into a deep sleep.'
"Rick's (Christian Bale) father used to read this story to him as a boy.
"The road to the East stretches out before him. Will he set forth?"
Knight of Cups will set forth as a world premiere at the Berlin film festival in February. I was a big fan of The Tree of Life, but I'm not sure I've taken enough acid lately to fully enjoy Malick's new movie. For now, watch the trailer below.