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 Malick makes a habit of not attending press conferences for
his premieres, so it was left to the cast to answer the most
obvious question: what's up with Bale's character Rick who has
the good life but wanders out in the desert alone, seeking some
mystical link to his lost inner child?
Bale and Natalie Portman, one of Rick's many lovers, said they
weren't told much about what the film was about -- Bale said he
never had any written dialogue, forcing him to respond in
character to other actors who were scripted.
But Malick had briefed him on who Rick was, and Bale said he was
a lost soul, despite his success.
"I think it's somebody who didn't realize he needed help, you
know he's somebody whose dreams and desires have actually come
to fruition, he's somebody who's succeeded at exactly what he
planned on doing ... (but) he sees that it seems to be a
continual repetition rather than a genuine soulful feeling of
satisfaction," Bale said.
"So you get this man who starts on a journey for something -- we
don't know what it is ... something he's looking forward to and
backwards to as well," Bale said.
Throughout the film, women are depicted as temptresses who have
led Rick astray from the goal his father has set for him, of
being better than his progenitor.
But women are also seen as salvation.
Malick films in dance and pole-dancing clubs, at fashion shoots
poolside at a luxury villa overlooking the city and at glitzy
parties. He also shoots in a medical ward where Rick's first
wife played by Cate Blanchett, from whom he splits because they
can't have children, tends to the poor and homeless.
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"Life's a goddess," one of the male characters says in voiceovers
that are the main source of dialogue.
"I felt that we had such incredibly soulful and intelligent
actresses who were playing those roles that it was clear that these
were the most important people in his (Rick's) life," Bale said.
Portman added: "I feel that the main character, Rick, his
experience, his journey, sort of reflects in his relationships with
these women and of course part of that is reflecting the great
diversity of the types of people, both male and female, you find in
Los Angeles."
Malick, who has only made a handful of films, famously took 20 years
between making his second picture "Days of Heaven" in 1978 and third
"The Thin Red Line" in 1998. His 2011 film, "The Tree of Life", won
the prestigious Palme d'Or in Cannes.
"Knight of Cups" is one of 19 in contention for the top Golden Bear
prize in Berlin awarded on Saturday.
(Editing by Crispian Balmer)
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