← Back to results
Knight of Cups
2015 118 min United States of America, Germany R 18+
★5.7
Drama, Romance, Fantasy
Director: Terrence Malick
Trailers
EN
Teaser
EN
EN
EN
EN
EN
EN
Description
Rick is a screenwriter living in Los Angeles. While successful in his career, his life feels empty. Haunted and confused, he finds temporary solace in the decadent Hollywood excess that defines his existence. Women provide a distraction to his daily pain, and every encounter brings him closer to finding his place in the world.
US Gross:
$566,006
Worldwide:
$566,006
Starring
Christian Bale
Actor
Cate Blanchett
Actor
Natalie Portman
Actor
Awards
Berlin International Film Festival 2015
— Golden Bear
Key opinion
Knight of Cups is a highly polarized, impressionistic exploration of existential emptiness that prioritizes mood and visual poetry over traditional storytelling. While many critics laud its hypnotic atmosphere and technical brilliance, others find the lack of a coherent narrative and dialogue to be an alienating and hollow viewing experience.
| Cinematography | Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography is universally praised for its evocative, fluid capture of light, landscapes, and melancholic atmosphere. | |
| Direction | The film’s improvisational, scriptless approach yields a unique, stream-of-consciousness style that captures raw emotion rather than structured drama. | |
| Acting | Christian Bale’s performance is marked by profound internal silence and detachment, creating a divisive effect where some see deep vulnerability and others find an unengaging protagonist. | |
| Screenplay | The rejection of conventional plot and traditional dialogue creates a divide between viewers who enjoy the meditative, poetic experience and those who view it as aimless and frustrating. | |
| Theme | The philosophical voice-over and symbolic, fragmented structure are seen by supporters as an immersive, high-art journey, while critics dismiss them as pretentious and sleep-inducing. |