We have two clips from Terrence Malick’s highly-anticipated new film The Tree of Life. The film is due out at the end of the month, but audiences at Cannes will get to see it during this year’s festival. Like most clips, they seem fairly odd out of context, but they do provide hints at an exciting picture. In the first clip, we see kids playing with their mother (Jessica Chastain) but I was captivated by how the camera almost never remains still and instead it glides around the characters almost as if it’s dancing with them. The other clip is more character-centric as we see the father (Brad Pitt) somewhat-bully his kids into learning how to fight. What I like about the scene is that while Pitt comes off as slightly terrifying, there’s also a compassion to his performance and that while his methods may be off-putting, the emotions aren’t necessarily malicious or hateful.

Hit the jump to check out the clips. The Tree of Life opens May 31st.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Tree of Life:

From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as BADLANDS, DAYS OF HEAVEN and THE THIN RED LINE, THE TREE OF LIFE is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950’s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick’s signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.

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