Love is strange. Even in this, his feature film debut, Terrence Malick’s commitment to his cinematic vision is crystal clear. As a story of the lost children of James Dean, as an X-ray of the American Way of Violence, it is profound enough, but it is Malick’s visual and storytelling sense that made this film such an important milestone. With Martin Sheen as an odd but slick 25 year old killer and Sissy Spacek as the teenage girl who is ready for whatever life has in store for her, even senseless murder. After all these years, this still gives audiences a rush of discovery.