“Badlands” (dir. Terrence Malick) is a film unstuck in time: shot in the ‘70s, set in the ‘50s, and, ultimately, a reaction to the counter-cultural revolution of the ‘60s. Everything in the film- the lingering, plaintive landscape shots, Kit’s casual relationship to violence- speaks to a unique time in American culture: one of alienation, violence, and social change.

When Kit and Holly flee the scene of Holly’s father’s murder, they completely remove themselves from society: they fish, forage, and build an improvised home in the trees. Their abandonment of public life and commerce mirrors the breakdown of traditional family structures and the rejection of consumerism in the ‘60s. The social developments of the decade were positive in retrospect, but they did not come easy; they were won through struggle. Kit and Holly’s detachment speaks to the disaffected of that generation- those struggling with changing values and fracturing modes of relationships.

“Badlands” also explores violence, but not the politicized, hyper-targeted assassinations of the ‘70s- Kit’s killings are indiscriminate, and he treats them with coolness, asking Holly “think I got them?” after shooting two people point blank in a storm cellar. Even on repeat viewings of the film, his motivation for murder is unclear. Sheila O’Malley, writing for the Criterion Collection, says it artfully: “[Kit’s] “wanting” comes from a restless, inchoate need for . . . it’s not clear.” Both Kit’s random killings and Holly’s emotional distance from them- she sheds not one tear over her father’s brutal execution- reflect the moral rot of the era, and how Americans became able to ignore the consequences of their violence, as in the early days of Vietnam, which the nation turned a blind eye to.

And, perhaps most reflective of the time in which the film was conceived, Kit is a classic antihero protagonist. Malick does not stylize his exploits or do anything to endear him to the audience. Kit is in no way a hero. The breakdown of a shared morality in the ‘60s allowed characters like Kit to take center stage- at the climax he shoots a cop and, once arrested, makes a whole platoon of soldiers his friends. Imagine that onscreen in 1960.

Malick also utilizes a variety of camera, audio, and narrative techniques to reinforce the film’s themes. “Badlands” is chock full of gorgeous, widescreen landscape compositions by cinematographer Tak Fujimoto. Of particular note is series of shots near the middle of the third act, where Kit and Holly tear through empty Montana grasslands in a stolen Chevy. They are completely alone onscreen, and with their driving, they literally forge their own path. What could be more emblematic of their alienation, their abandonment of society?

The score, by Carol Orff, is light, dreamy, innocent- the main theme wouldn’t sound out of place in an ad for daycare services- and it stands in direct contrast to the bloodshed depicted on-screen. That ironic distance, between nostalgic naiveté and reality, is enabled by the cynicism and grittiness of ‘70s cinema (you could call it post-modern). Where sincerity once was, double-meaning now ruled.

“Badlands” perplexed me and confounded my expectations in nearly every scene. For a film with such dramatic premises, no one seems to much care what’s going on- not the cops, not Kit, not Holly, even thirty years down the line narrating. Recall the mantra of the ‘60s: turn on, tune in, drop out. Even now, I don’t know exactly what to make of it, but one thing is clear: it bids goodbye to the past and presages the future.