The Tree is a French-Australian 2010 film co-produced between Australia and France. It was filmed in the small town of Boonah[2] in Queensland, Australia, and follows the lives of Dawn (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her four children after the unexpected death of her husband Peter (Aden Young). The film is an adaptation of the 2002 debut novelOur Father Who Art in the Tree by Australian writer and performer Judy Pascoe. The film closed the Cannes Film Festival[3] on 23 May 2010 following the Awards Ceremony and received a seven-minute standing ovation.[1] In addition, The Tree premiered at the 2010 Sydney Film Festival.[4] The film is distributed in the US by Zeitgeist Films, opening on 15 July 2011 in New York, on 22 July in Los Angeles, Boston and Washington, D.C., and throughout the country over the summer.
Dawn and Peter O'Neil live together with their children (three boys and a girl), on the outskirts of a small country town. Next to their rambling house stands the kids' favourite playground: a giant Moreton Bay Fig tree (now known in real-life as the Teviotville Tree), whose branches reach high towards the sky and roots stretch far into the ground.
Everything seems perfect until Peter suffers a heart attack, crashing his car into the tree's trunk. Dawn is devastated, left alone with her grief and four children to raise. Until one day, 8-year-old Simone, reveals a secret to her mother. She's convinced her father whispers to her through the leaves of the tree and he's come back to protect them. Dawn takes comfort from Simone's imagination, and starts to believe in it herself; just like Simone, Dawn also likes to spend time in the tree. It starts to dominate their physical and emotional landscape. But the close bond between mother and Simone forged through a mutual sorrow and shared secret, is threatened by the arrival of George, the plumber, called in to remove the tree's troublesome roots. As the relationship between Dawn and George blossoms, the tree continues to grow, with its branches infiltrating the house, its roots destroy the foundations. Dawn decides the tree has to go. George and some other workmen arrive, but Simone climbs in the tree to defend it. Dawn and George try to convince her, but she refuses to come down. George argues to Dawn that the girl is only 8 years old, Dawn should not allow her to stop the necessary removal of the tree. This irritates Dawn, and she cancels the operation, and tells George she does not want to see him again.
In a big storm the house is demolished by the tree, and the family leaves the area, planning to start living somewhere else, perhaps in a tent.
The Tree was written and directed by Julie Bertuccelli, it is based on the screenplay by Elizabeth J. Mars, produced by Sue Taylor of Taylor Media, Yael Fogiel and Laetitia Gonzalez of Les Films du Poisson, and is a co-production between Australia and France.[5] It came to be a co-production when Julie Bertuccelli was given the book Our Father Who Art in the Tree[6] by a close friend. When she looked into getting the rights for the film she found that Australian producer Sue Taylor already had them, however she did not have a director. It just so happened that Julie is a director, and from there the co-production was born. The tree used in the film is Teviotville Tree, located in the small town of Teviotville in the state of Queensland. It has a 34 m spread, 20 m height and 2.31 m diameter at 1 m above ground, which is the narrowest point. The tree has low branches which have not been pruned off, and when they are laden with fruit they reach the ground. It is very rare to find this in a Moreton Bay Fig tree. It is estimated that it was planted in 1880.[7]
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 72% based on 67 critics, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's consensus reads: "Though it leans rather heavily on its central metaphor, The Tree is a moving and ultimately hopeful meditation on grief with shades of magical realism".[8] On Metacritic, The Tree holds 58 out of a 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]
Marjorie Baumgarten of The Austin Chronicle wrote "Pacing problems and shallow psychological inquiries plague this film almost as much as the overworked metaphor that supplies the film's title.".[10]
Sheri Linden of the Los Angeles Times praised Bertuccelli's directing for its use of "the scrubbed topography of Queensland, Australia", adding that "her mystical symbols can be as on-the-nose as her dialogue".[11] A similar praise also came from Patrick Peters of Empire who called the film "An eerie and unsettling adaptation of Judy Pascoe's novel that impresses more for its atmospherics than its narrative".[12]
According to Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian "The imagery is almost unendurably self-conscious, and Gainsbourg, with her low, musical, murmuring voice, gives the kind of performance you suspect she can do standing on her head. Her final lines are irritating beyond belief".[15]
Soundtrack
Original film music was written and composed by Grégoire Hetzel. The soundtrack features other songs of the film:[16]
^Festival de Cannes 2010. "The Tree by Julie Bertuccelli: closing film of the 63rd Festival de Cannes". Publicis Modem agency. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
^Alice: The Plot Thickens (24 June 2010). . Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
^The Tree Film Official Website. . Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
^Judy Pascoe Homepage. "J.M. Pascoe Homepage". Retrieved 7 October 2021.
^Boonah Ficus Tree – Movie The Tree 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2021.[dead YouTube link]
Zeitgeist takes 2010 Cannes closer The Tree on indieWiRE
The Tree at Cannes 2010
Interview with Director Julie Bertuccelli
News Article on The Tree
News Article on The Tree
February 07, 2023
tree, 2010, film, tree, french, australian, 2010, film, produced, between, australia, france, filmed, small, town, boonah, queensland, australia, follows, lives, dawn, charlotte, gainsbourg, four, children, after, unexpected, death, husband, peter, aden, young. The Tree is a French Australian 2010 film co produced between Australia and France It was filmed in the small town of Boonah 2 in Queensland Australia and follows the lives of Dawn Charlotte Gainsbourg and her four children after the unexpected death of her husband Peter Aden Young The film is an adaptation of the 2002 debut novel Our Father Who Art in the Tree by Australian writer and performer Judy Pascoe The film closed the Cannes Film Festival 3 on 23 May 2010 following the Awards Ceremony and received a seven minute standing ovation 1 In addition The Tree premiered at the 2010 Sydney Film Festival 4 The film is distributed in the US by Zeitgeist Films opening on 15 July 2011 in New York on 22 July in Los Angeles Boston and Washington D C and throughout the country over the summer The TreeFilm PosterDirected byJulie BertuccelliWritten byJulie BertuccelliScreenplay byElizabeth J MarsBased onOur Father Who Art in the Treeby Judy PascoeProduced bySue TaylorYael FogielLaetitia GonzalezStarringCharlotte GainsbourgMarton CsokasMorgan Davies a Christian ByersTom RussellGabriel GottingAden YoungCinematographyNigel BluckEdited byFrancois GedigierMusic byGregoire HetzelProductioncompaniesTaylor MediaLes Films du PoissonDistributed byTransmission Films Australia Le Pacte France Zeitgeist Films US Release dates23 May 2010 2010 05 23 Cannes 11 August 2010 2010 08 11 France 30 September 2010 2010 09 30 Australia Running time100 minutesCountriesAustraliaFranceLanguageEnglishBudget 10 million 1 Box office 2 219 182 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 Soundtrack 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksPlot EditDawn and Peter O Neil live together with their children three boys and a girl on the outskirts of a small country town Next to their rambling house stands the kids favourite playground a giant Moreton Bay Fig tree now known in real life as the Teviotville Tree whose branches reach high towards the sky and roots stretch far into the ground Everything seems perfect until Peter suffers a heart attack crashing his car into the tree s trunk Dawn is devastated left alone with her grief and four children to raise Until one day 8 year old Simone reveals a secret to her mother She s convinced her father whispers to her through the leaves of the tree and he s come back to protect them Dawn takes comfort from Simone s imagination and starts to believe in it herself just like Simone Dawn also likes to spend time in the tree It starts to dominate their physical and emotional landscape But the close bond between mother and Simone forged through a mutual sorrow and shared secret is threatened by the arrival of George the plumber called in to remove the tree s troublesome roots As the relationship between Dawn and George blossoms the tree continues to grow with its branches infiltrating the house its roots destroy the foundations Dawn decides the tree has to go George and some other workmen arrive but Simone climbs in the tree to defend it Dawn and George try to convince her but she refuses to come down George argues to Dawn that the girl is only 8 years old Dawn should not allow her to stop the necessary removal of the tree This irritates Dawn and she cancels the operation and tells George she does not want to see him again In a big storm the house is demolished by the tree and the family leaves the area planning to start living somewhere else perhaps in a tent Cast EditCharlotte Gainsbourg as Dawn Marton Csokas as George Aden Young as Peter Morgan Davies a as Simone Christian Byers as Tim Tom Russell as Lou Gabriel Gotting as Charlie Gillian Jones as Vonnie Penne Hackforth Jones as Mrs JohnsonProduction EditThe Tree was written and directed by Julie Bertuccelli it is based on the screenplay by Elizabeth J Mars produced by Sue Taylor of Taylor Media Yael Fogiel and Laetitia Gonzalez of Les Films du Poisson and is a co production between Australia and France 5 It came to be a co production when Julie Bertuccelli was given the book Our Father Who Art in the Tree 6 by a close friend When she looked into getting the rights for the film she found that Australian producer Sue Taylor already had them however she did not have a director It just so happened that Julie is a director and from there the co production was born The tree used in the film is Teviotville Tree located in the small town of Teviotville in the state of Queensland It has a 34 m spread 20 m height and 2 31 m diameter at 1 m above ground which is the narrowest point The tree has low branches which have not been pruned off and when they are laden with fruit they reach the ground It is very rare to find this in a Moreton Bay Fig tree It is estimated that it was planted in 1880 7 Reception EditOn review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 72 based on 67 critics with an average rating of 6 2 10 The site s consensus reads Though it leans rather heavily on its central metaphor The Tree is a moving and ultimately hopeful meditation on grief with shades of magical realism 8 On Metacritic The Tree holds 58 out of a 100 based on 20 critics indicating mixed or average reviews 9 Marjorie Baumgarten of The Austin Chronicle wrote Pacing problems and shallow psychological inquiries plague this film almost as much as the overworked metaphor that supplies the film s title 10 Sheri Linden of the Los Angeles Times praised Bertuccelli s directing for its use of the scrubbed topography of Queensland Australia adding that her mystical symbols can be as on the nose as her dialogue 11 A similar praise also came from Patrick Peters of Empire who called the film An eerie and unsettling adaptation of Judy Pascoe s novel that impresses more for its atmospherics than its narrative 12 Critics such as Michael O Sullivan of The Washington Post called The Tree not exactly subtle 13 while Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said that It s simply vagueness 14 According to Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian The imagery is almost unendurably self conscious and Gainsbourg with her low musical murmuring voice gives the kind of performance you suspect she can do standing on her head Her final lines are irritating beyond belief 15 Soundtrack EditOriginal film music was written and composed by Gregoire Hetzel The soundtrack features other songs of the film 16 Weak Asaf Avidan amp The Mojos 3 34 Wake Gregoire Hetzel 2 58 The Tree Main Theme Gregoire Hetzel 3 55 Chorus of Die Kriegsknechte aber from The Passion according to St John Scholars Baroque Ensemble 1 26 Flying Foxes The Slippers 2 47 Speak to Me Gregoire Hetzel 2 55 Simone s Theme Gregoire Hetzel 3 18 The Roots Gregoire Hetzel 3 27 Shiver Shiver The Slippers 3 48 Under the Branches Gregoire Hetzel 3 55 Wounded Tree Gregoire Hetzel 3 13 To Build a Home The Cinematic Orchestra 6 12 Daydream Extra Track Gregoire Hetzel 8 45 Notes Edit a b Credited as Morgana DaviesReferences Edit a b c London riots hit as The Tree opens in the UK IF Magazine 11 August 2011 Australian Associated Press 19 August 2009 Charlotte Gainsbourg to film in south Qld Brisbane Times Retrieved 7 October 2021 Festival de Cannes 2010 The Tree by Julie Bertuccelli closing film of the 63rd Festival de Cannes Publicis Modem agency Retrieved 7 October 2021 Alice The Plot Thickens 24 June 2010 Sydney Film Festival The Tree Archived from the original on 7 July 2011 Retrieved 7 July 2011 The Tree Film Official Website How it all Started Archived from the original on 5 September 2010 Retrieved 6 September 2010 Judy Pascoe Homepage J M Pascoe Homepage Retrieved 7 October 2021 Boonah Ficus Tree Movie The Tree 2010 Retrieved 7 October 2021 dead YouTube link The Tree 2010 Rotten Tomatoes Fandango Media Retrieved 7 October 2021 The Tree Metacritic CBS Interactive Retrieved 7 October 2021 Baumgarten Marjorie 30 September 2011 Stop and Go The Austin Chronicle Retrieved 7 October 2021 Linden Sheri 21 July 2011 Movie review The Tree Entertainment Los Angeles Times Retrieved 7 October 2021 Peters Patrick 4 August 2011 The Tree Review Empire O Sullivan Michael 22 July 2011 The Tree Archived from the original on 23 July 2011 LaSalle Mick 29 July 2011 The Tree review The silence of mourning San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved 7 October 2021 Bradshaw Peter 4 August 2011 The Tree review The Guardian Retrieved 7 October 2021 Official Soundtrack The Tree L Arbre 2010 Gregoire Hetzel CD Retrieved 7 October 2021 External links EditOfficial website The Tree at IMDb Zeitgeist takes 2010 Cannes closer The Tree on indieWiRE The Tree at Cannes 2010 Cannes Closing Night Interview with Director Julie Bertuccelli News Article on The Tree News Article on The Tree Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Tree 2010 film amp oldid 1112134616, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
