Tree, The

Closing night film selection for the 2010 Cannes International Film Festival, and Julie Bertuccelli’s second feature. Her first, Since Otar Left, won the Grand Jury Prize during Cannes Critic’s Week in 2003. 

In this hauntingly beautiful tale of love, loss, and renewal, French cinema stunner Charlotte Gainsbourg naturally illuminates the screen with her nuanced, unassuming role as a bereaved wife and mother. Sheltered by a benevolent fig tree, the O’Neil family lives a tranquil life, until tragedy strikes. Eight-year-old Simone, struggling to cope with the loss of her father, Peter, begins to sense his spirit deep within the tree. When Peter’s newfound incarnation is threatened, she must convince everyone of his presence or risk losing him a second time.

Beautifully shot in a bare stretch of Queensland, Bertuccelli’s latest film is a touching story of a family learning to move on.

Print Source: Zeitgeist Films, Nadja Tennstedt, nadja@zeitgeistfilms.com