On Receiving the Script for The Way of the Wind
Note: I had asked for a copy of the screenplay for The Way of the Wind from Director Terry Malick when I was in Austin in December 2020. In the throes of a spiritual malaise, I was keen on the reading experience to charge me a bit. A few days later, the script was emailed by Terry’s assistant in watermarked pages bearing my name and email address to prevent distribution.
After six years of reading and meditating on this piece of literature (which I consider to be), I have written my responses through a compilation of sporadic notes, asides, and in-depth analyses wherever warranted. For the purposes of this book-in-progress, I am examining only the script since the film remains in post-production. Since Mr. Malick expressly forbids the quotation of any of his unpublished screenplays –– in part or full –– I will resort to paraphrasing.
While in Austin, I was privileged to see small clips of The Way of the Wind as they were being logged into the AVID editor. Among these was a shot of the disciples on a stormy Sea of Galilee, Christ carrying the cross; Ben Kingsley as Satan on an Icelandic glacier; an impressive shot of some tall cumulus clouds over Morocco and a few more.
