Two young lovers go on a violent spree and run away together with zero care for anything else outside of their own bubble. You’d think the scene would be romantic, or passionate at least, but director Terrence Malick plays it with extreme detachment. You wonder if the two are actually in love, or if there’s any motivation behind the killings. But before you go down that rabbit hole, the sweeping, epic landscapes of middle America steal your attention and never let go of it. This is a Malick film after all, and all the answers to your (and the characters’) questions lie in the silent grandness of the Earth. This is Malick’s first film, and it will explain all the others that come after it.

The detachment is both scary and understandable.