This God in the film is very different from many churches’ projection – which seldom looks at the book of Job – a power drama discussing the absurdity of God and the suffering of humans + the neutrality of these things. Seriously, I felt very little with those science dominated images of creation, that are to me taking the perspective of God. These super clear images also contradicted the character’s psychological stages as well as to his understanding of the God correspondingly. While music is also central to the film, these magnificant images actually weakened the power of the music pieces chosen by being distracting. Coincidentally, the father played by Pitt also got distracted from his pursue of music and spiritual music.
The abrupt jumped from questioning to accepting the fate of the lost son and trusting him to this God has not been explained. Just like the rustic door in the desert that came from nowhere.
The film also never let us know how the lost son turned out to be when his life was taken at 19. The sweet and musical counter part of the father who lost to his father’s violence.  Without that I could not quite relate to the final scene of returning to a younger family, when problems might be less intense and love prevailing.
May be the 8-hour version will work, so I can be sucked up in the deadend of this family.  This one doesn’t.