Not that you'd know it, thanks to the fact there are zero local reviews of the film (there's not a single piece about it in the Oregonian, Willamette Week, or, it's true, even your beloved Mercury, save this post from last June) and the fact it's only showing one time per night at a single Portland theater. Which is... weird? Since Terrence Malick is kind of a big deal? And since Voyage of Time is nothing less than his attempt to convey "the entire timeline of life on earth"?
So why no reviews? It's not only because there wasn't a press screening (though there wasn't). It's also because the film's distributor didn't bother telling anyone it was opening in Portland. Here at the Mercury, we work hard to cover all the relevant and worthwhile (and sometimes not-so-relevant and not-so-worthwhile) film events in Portland—but at the end of the day, much of the info we rely on comes from distributors, theater owners, and filmmakers. So when nobody bothers saying something like, "Oh, hey, the gorgeous-looking new movie from Terrence Fucking Malick is opening here," it's hard for us to know that the gorgeous-looking new movie from Terrence Fucking Malick is opening here.
And to be fair, Voyage of Time is a tricky film to publicize: With multiple runtimes and multiple aspect ratios, even trying to figure out which version of the film Portland has is a pain. (According to Fandango, we've got the 40-minute version.) December's also a notoriously busy month for "artsy" movie releases, which means Voyage of Time likely isn't getting anyone's attention—that's all going to Jackie and La La Land.
Anyway! I'll try to make it to Lloyd Cinemas sometime this week for one of their nightly shows of Voyage of Time, and I'll update with a review when that happens. In the meantime, heads up: Despite all evidence to the contrary, and despite it being difficult to both find out about and see, Portland does have the new movie from Terrence Malick. Click here for showtimes. (Showtime?) And a new Terrence Malick movie is worth getting excited about, no matter how much I grumble about the specifics.