Film reviews
Men In Black 3
It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.
Bel Ami
The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.
The Dictator
A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.
The Woman In Black
Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.
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The Tree (Film)
Rating: M
Running Time: 100
Country: France, Australia
Director: Julie Bertucelli
Cast: Marton Csokas, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Aden Young
Distributor: Transmission/Paramount
Release Date: September 30, 2010
Film Worth: $14.50
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthWith beautifully realised performances rooted in real life, this mystical and moving film is ultimately a hopeful one.
There's something of the rough diamond in this exquisite film. The unvarnished rural Queensland images are stunning, and the performances are the stuff of real life.
A French-Australian co-production, The Tree follows Simone (an extraordinary Morgana Davies), an eight-year-old who believes that her recently deceased father (Aden Young) speaks to her through a magnificent Moreton Bay fig (a tree that apparently took two years of location scouting to "cast"). Young Davies has wisdom beyond her years, and holds her own as an actress against the formidable talents of Charlotte Gainsbourg (Antichrist), who plays her mum, Dawn. Gainsbourg is sensational, and the widowed Dawn is authentic, inspiring and courageous.
French director Julie Bertucelli (Since Otar Left) takes an organic approach, coaxing great performances out of the young cast; Davies may be the stand-out, but the actors playing her siblings are also excellent. An assured filmmaker, Bertucelli drives this at a gentle pace, but the narrative creeps up on you. You're involved before you even realise it as The Tree builds on itself until the incredible - and cinematic - climax.
The Tree is as much about love - romantic and familial - as it is about loss, with romance appearing in Dawn's life in the form of local plumber, George (an earthy Marton Csokas). It says something meaningful about the state of grief - living with it and moving through it - while the Moreton Bay fig itself is a character, offering something potentially esoteric. But when it comes to spiritual matters, the film - which has its surprises - leaves you to draw your own conclusions. Loss is central to this story, but this isn't another Australian film that will be accused of being bleak. It's realistic yet hopeful, a little mystical and simply quite beautiful. You can see why it was chosen to close the Cannes Film Festival - and why Cannes gave it a seven-minute standing ovation.
