Terrence Malick

This new book, put together by admiring young Italian film-makers, has found the right approach ... Explicitly not a biography, it is instead a medley of interviews and memoirs about working with Malick ... Mostly, though, it's telling practicalities, for it is a peculiarity of Malick's methods that he does not instruct even his actors about the meaning of their roles ... before [Jessica Chastain] auditioned for him, she watched all his films, which she already loved, "in chronological order again - to get a feeling of his world; I recommend it to everyone to watch all his movies again one after the other." So here's a plan for the dark days: get this tactful but highly informative book, get the films, and do just that, reading its chapters as you go.

[A] detailed read ... told through quotes from these who worked with the maverick ... An untangling insight into one of cinemas greatest enigmas.

The wonder of Terrence Malick. His extraordinary films show the beauty and violence at the heart of nature.

On the basis that Terrence Malick's films are best experienced, not explained, his and his film's mysteries are well sustained in this interview collection. Malick mavens Sam Shepard and Jack Fisk paint eloquent portraits of a man in rigorous pursuit of an elusive "magic", Sean Penn and Richard Gere praise those mellifluous "Malick moments", while Jessica Chastain concludes wisely: 'Watch all his movies again...".

An enjoyable collection of interviews, memories and testimonials from actors and key collaborators, the book charts the continuing growth of Malick's vision, exploring his obsessions with identity, family, the natural world and the human condition through the stories of those closest to him ... accessible, conversational ... [Terence Malick: Rehearsing the Unexpected] is full of telling detail and new insight.

As Malick is notoriously publicity shy - he is rarely photographed, let alone interviewed - this is as close to his creative process as we can hope to get.