Karry
Best movie of this year hands down!
AnhartLinkin
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
Rosie Searle
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
simona gianotti
The universal theme of suffering after the abrupt death of a dear one, with the necessity for those who remain to go on with life, is here presented in a very serene way. No melodrama, no anxiety, no exaggeration in sensitivity, but solid realism, with a touch of the magic of this tree, heart of the family and of the movie. It's a movie which follows the pace and the inner development of the single characters, mainly of Dawn, the mother, and Simone, the daughter, both wonderfully interpreted by a high-talented Charlotte Gainsbourg, and by a surprisingly mature little girl. It's a movie about the need to go on, to accept the strokes of life with the force and dignity that, let me say it, sometimes only women have, with no sentimentalism, no pathetic indulgence, but with sober realism and a strong feeling for human courage. Another movie that unfortunately will not reach the great distribution, but we know that the phantasmagoric magic of Harry Potter attracts more public and brings more money than the humble magic of a fig tree. However, a truly valid picture.
priyantha-bandara
Story of the 'The Tree' takes place in the country side of Australia. It's plot around Dawn O'Neil who is a mother of 4 children struggling to recover with the unexpected loss of her husband. When the father die the happiness of the family seems to ran far away and Dawn for months tries to understand the reality and put everything back together for her kids. But the youngest 8 year old daughter Simone fails to adapt to the situation and starts to believe that her father speaks to her via the big old tree in their garden. And when this tree becomes too unstable and threatens the house and the family Dawn has to decide if to chop the tree down amidst her daughter's objection. The Tree has a good flow. It's filled with little events which defines the O'Neil family and how they try to cope up with the loss of their father and the protection and income. Alongside the main attention is given towards the giant tree which holds a significant value in the family and its history. Soon the viewer starts to feel like the tree is actually a family member which keeps the family in bound to each other. And it does it for good reasons. Dawn's character is a strong one. And Charlotte Gainsbourge portrays it quite skillfully. And the performance by the little Morgana Davies who plays the sweet yet stubborn Simone does a wonderful job as well. Overall the acting in the movies is quite raw and closer to reality. Thus brings viewer in to more realism with the whole situation. The Tree most of the time is a quite movie. With little score and few lines in between it will put the viewer in to the middle of a lonely place. But don't let that loneliness to gulp you down. Because good movies don't make much noise. My reviews at flickshout.tk
Looongman19
Sometime i feel alone in this world...and when I saw that this movie only had 6.6, it really just proved it again.Enough is enough, I had to find my old password in order to log in, and vote 10, and of course, to write this review.This movie is a masterpiece. It has some of the most wonderful pictures, cuts and acting I've ever seen. The acting is so psychological correct, that you forget all about you are watching a movie. Instead you feel like a fly on the wall. The only place were i lost my focus to the movie, where when I think: Where did they find that girl? (Simone) I found out later that more than 200 girls were auditioned to find her. This does not necessarily mean she, Morgana Davies, is excellent, but...she just is. I will bet what i have in my pockets, that this girl just has started a carrier, like Nathalie Portman did in Leon, this is her phantom star. Surely a great carrier is waiting.But, let us not loose our focus from the movie. If you are a deep person, who loves themes like: family, the unexplained, loyalty, love, and great moving pictures, spiced with the best acting in cinemas right now...then go and buy this movie, and give it to your friend to enjoy it after wards.I will "only" give it 9 though..just because of movies like Braveheart, La Vita e Bella and The Matrix still exists :) Peace E
Harry T. Yung
Bereavement happening to a young family is double-edged. In one way is particularly sad. However, the strength of recovery is stronger. This movie takes an intimate unpretentious look at such a family during the year following the tragedy.The opening scene, almost like a prologue, shows a not-quite-forty-ish couple Dawn and Peter sharing a few intimate moments in a serene evening on a hammock in the front yard of their somewhat Spartan house in the Australian Outback. The next scene, after the title display, shows Peter on his regular job, a short trip hauling a prefab house to whatever destination. Job done, Peter a short way from home is met by 8-year-old Simone (who later in the movie claims to be his favourite child). Upon reaching home, Peter stumbles onto the steering wheel, Simone frantically calls for help and everybody rushes out from the house, to find their loved one beyond revival from a sudden heart attack. All of the above take place within the first dew minutes of the movie.During the funeral, we find out more about the family of 4 children. Teenage Tim suddenly finds that he becomes the man of the family. Lou is about Simone's age, the natural sibling rival. They accuse each other of trying to gain attention (pretty mature psychology from these two kids) – Lou's cutting his hair short and Simone's climbing up a gigantic Moreton Bay fig tree just in front of their house. Charles is only a little more than a toddler.Dawn's initial depression is understandable, as is her recovery. While the movie is largely character driven, there are two main plot elements. One is Dawn finding a job as a clerk-of-all-trade in a plumbing store owned by a man named George. Although it is only 8 months after the bereavement, Dawn is after all relatively young. The development of a romantic relationship is understandable, as George is really a nice guy. He I also an ideal father substitute, but there are two problems: it's too soon, and he is NOT Peter. (This somehow reminds me of a recent re-watch of Indiana Jones 4 on TV, when he told the rediscovered Marion that he has had several romantic encounters after her but the women all had the same problem, "They're not you, honey"). While the other kids accept George, Simone is the one that feels so strongly about this that there simply can be no compromise.The other, titular, plot element is the aforementioned tree that Simone takes to climbing up, talking to, and even sleeping on. She even seems to have convinced Dawn that Peter's spirit dwells in the tree. And it's up to the audiences' interpretation – whether mother and daughter's communication with the tree is a supernatural or simply a psychological phenomenon.The climatic dramatic conflict expectedly comes from these two plot lines. Mother and daughter's confrontation about George comes to a head. In parallel, the over-growth of the tree has lead to threats on the underground drainage system of the complaining neighbourhood. Its obvious fate seems inevitable.As mentioned, this movie is after all mainly character driven. The general texture is quietly contemplative. For example, when Dawn asks Tim who is about to leave home to seek his own life if he think that their family is a happy one, the answer from this teenager is typically non-committal, something to the effect that like every other family, theirs is "a bore". There is no negative connotation, but just a motherhood statement that while there would of course be joys and woes, when you live day and day out with your family, life would usually tend to be rather flat. Throughout the movie after their initial bereavement, we share with this family their daily life, sometimes tender, sometimes whimsical, sometimes irritating, always realistic.Cannes (2009) Best Actress winner, bilingual Charlotte Gainsbourg, as always, is wonderful, and completely convincing as Dawn going through a rather tremulous emotional roller-coaster. Equally marvellous, as Simone, is Morgana Davies, little heard of to-date but does not suffer in any way in comparison with the best of them such as Abigail Breslin or Elle Fanning. Supporting them is a solid, capable cast. Photography and background score are appropriately excellent.
