Not recommended under 12, PG to 14 (Violence and disturbing themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 12 | Not recommended due to violence and disturbing themes |
Children 12-14 | Not recommended due to disturbing themes |
Children 15 and over | OK for this age group |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Tree of Life, The |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild themes |
Length: | 138 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The Tree of Life explores the premise that life can be shaped in two ways, by grace or by nature. The movie explores these two themes through imagery of life across many cosmic domains including the life of a family.
Jack (Hunter McCracken) is the eldest son in a family of three who struggles in his relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). The movie follows Jack into adulthood (played by Sean Penn) as he undertakes an exploration of his damaging past, his present life and the future.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Death of a child; cruelty to animals; child abuse
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
There is some violence in this movie including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
In addition to the above mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
There are no additional scenes however this movie has the potential to disturb this age group because of the emotional intensity created throughout the movie through visual images and music and by the above-mentioned scenes.
None of concern
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
None of concern
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
The Tree of Life is a poetic and complex exploration of life, with less of an emphasis placed on a comprehensive story and more on evoking the viewer’s own emotional responses. The film’s emotional intensity and family violence is likely to make it too disturbing for children under 12 and some younger teens
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
Parents may also wish to discuss the negative and positive connections that exist within families and the consequences of these.
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
Children and Media Australia (CMA) is a registered business name of the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM).
CMA provides reviews, research and advocacy to help children thrive in a digital world.
ACCM is national, not-for-profit and reliant on community support. You can help.