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EducationalThe Tree (DVD)
“A LYRICAL STORY OF LOSS AND LONGING!”
–Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times
The luminous Charlotte Gainsbourg stars in Julie Bertuccelli’s achingly beautiful follow-up to her sleeper hit Since Otar Left. Closing Night Film at Cannes in 2010,The Tree is a mystical drama of loss and rebirth in the Australian countryside. Blindsided with anguish after her husband’s sudden death, Dawn (Gainsbourg)—along with her four young children—struggles to make sense of life without him. Then, eight-year-old Simone (unforgettable newcomer Morgana Davies) becomes convinced that her father is whispering to her through the leaves of the gargantuan fig tree that towers over their house.
- Gorgeous HD transfer, enhanced for widescreen viewing
- “In the Shadow of The Tree”: a behind-the-scenes documentary
- Nine deleted scenes
- U.S. theatrical trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired (SDH)
- Julie Bertuccelli - Director
Reviews
Julie Bertuccelli....assures her place in the upper tiers of independent filmmaking.... Large doses of charm and sparkling performances fill sweeping landscapes.... Visual poetry... Tour de force of jaw-dropping visual effects.... Beneath its deceptive simplicity it delivers many poignant moments, much physical beauty and many truths.
4 STARS! Sometimes a 'small' film eclipses a big one that wins the limelight. As a life statement, The Tree of Life implodes from its cosmic Texan gas. Far more modestly, The Tree sends out shoots of life and is never sappy.... There is sensual magic, not just tree-hugger whimsy, in this adaptation of Judy Pascoe’s novel Our Father Who Art in a Tree. The fig tree and the old house are characters, and the excellent Gainsbourg and Morgana Davies (Simone) send tendrils of emotion into the tree, the sky, the landscape, and our fascination.
The Tree tackles difficult issues of death, mourning, rebirth and the overwhelming power of nature. The film succeeds, highlighted by wonderful acting, skillful cinematography, the barren, almost eerie location and the mysterious interaction between the fig tree and its family.... Featured as the Closing Night selection of Cannes 2010, "The Tree" is far from Hollywood's formulaic movies. Not merely plot-driven, this starkly beautiful film creates a fascinating view of life, real and imagined.
A lyrical story of loss and longing. Charlotte Gainsbourg brings aching melancholy to the role of Dawn.
It's one of the best films of 2011, a rare family story that justifies every ounce of its warmth and sincerity, and demonstrates once again the earthy vitality of actress Charlotte Gainsbourg.... By now it should be obvious that Gainsbourg is one of international cinema's most versatile portrayers of characters...we couldn't take our eyes off Gainsbourg.... She and filmmaker Bertuccelli understand each other right down to the roots.
The film never does what you expect it to.... Young Morgana Davies is inspiring.... Gainsbourg embodies the role of a grieving woman in another overflowingly open performance
What a magnificent tree!
Davies is an eager towhead with an astounding capacity to brood. Her instinct and line delivery are sharp but organic. There’s a wonder in both the character and the performance that meets up nicely with girls her age in movies such as The Spirit of the Beehive, The Piano, and Pan’s Labyrinth
What makes The Tree feel like a movie about actual people and not just writer's constructs are the powerful performances by Gainsbourg and young Davies.
Graceful performances! The talented ensemble cast...give full flesh to their characters, breathing life - and nuance - into their parts.
An achingly sensitive performance from Gainsbourg!
[Morgana Davies is] extraordinary! That anyone could steal thunder out from under an actress as always-fine as Charlotte Gainsbourg is surprising enough; that it would be a small girl with but a single credit behind her is a further oddity. Yet Ms Davies excels!
CRITICS PICK! Gorgeous.... On the edge of the outback, the environment is so luminous that every outdoor shot has an aura of magical realism. Ms. Gainsbourg, is almost as striking a figure in “The Tree” as she was playing a demonic wife in Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist.” The radiant, stubbornly bratty 8-year-old Simone, whom Morgana Davies portrays with an exceptional force and confidence.
Gainsbourg uses her elegant, angular beauty to move Dawn from lost to searching to accepting, never once making a false move.
Gainsbourg is such a wonderful actress!
(A) moving story about grief and the resilience of family ties. Intuitive, deeply felt storytelling at is best!
Even better is Davies as the child who takes temporary residence in the tree’s branches, displaying a desperate simplicity of belief that nearly carries the film.
Glory be to Gainsbourg!
Remarkable! The Tree offers a unique, almost lyrical perspective on grief through its incredibly rich Australian landscape.... The film’s stunning, climatic ending has humans and nature all playing a part in the ever-changing push of life. The Tree starts as a metaphor for grief, but like all living things, it evolves into a metaphor for lives that need to grow up and move forward.
Gainsbourg uses her elegant, angular beauty to move Dawn from lost to searching to accepting, never once making a false move.
A beautifully shot exploration of the way we deal with loss, as well as an intense (and sometimes scary) look at the power of nature.
Exquisitely composed! So involving!
It's extremely touching and heart-felt. It's a tender family drama you won't soon forget.
I shall never see a film as lovely as The Tree....COMES CLOSE TO PERFECTION!
Beautifully made, beautifully acted
Just remarkable! Morgana Davies simply steals the show. Quite simply a beautiful film
4 STARS! A visual and kinetic tour de force that has a startling impact!
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