The Sea of Trees (2016)

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Over recent years, several reviewers have mentioned finding the reviews and critical reactions given by the Academy and Festival critics - for mainstream and other titles, to be just about worthless. "Trees" is a reasonable case in point. While Mad Max and the like, are hailed way above their station, thoughtful life-affirming works are being thrown away – some have begun to question these baseless critics.Chris Sparling (Buried 2010) with 'Sea of Trees', has written a thoughtful study about the places the mind goes when overcome by grief. The entire impact of this movie is fully engrossing. The performances, script, direction - the hauntingly beautiful cinematography by Danish documentary maker Kasper Tuxen, the artistic production design, all wrapped up in a score by modern symphonics composer Mason Bates, offers much to be admired.It's an exhausting experience for the thoughtful, patient viewer. At first, this looked like it was about to be yet another story unfolding in flash backwards/forwards mode - that often leaves you with little resolution. Thankfully, here, the pieces fit together in a rather unexpected way. It's slightly reminiscent of an earlier, now forgotten, Ben Hecht story "Miracle in the Rain" yet, also entirely different in overall tone. Mathew McConaughey and Ken Watanabe are perfect as the strangers brought together in the valley of death. It's good to see lovely Naomi Watts used to good advantage in a role worthy of her professionalism. For those who like to think and feel their entertainment, this is a must. If depressed or burdened by grief you might not be so drawn to its topic. Still, it's all first class – regardless of the somewhat superficial festival crowds indifference.

Arthur Brennan (Matthew McConaughey) has had it tough and is has decided to do himself in as a privileged person by traveling to Japan's suicide forest. He chooses the cowards way out by taking pills. He has about 30 pills to take and it takes him half a bottle of water to swallow just 2 pills and has only one bottle. I'll let you do the math there. BTW the guy teaches physics. While attempting to get that third pill down he encounters a man (Ken Watanabe) who is more messed up than he is. Rather than continue with his plan, Arthur, our skeptic, helps the man. Arthur has flashbacks to his antagonistic relationship with his wife and we know how this formula film ends, even with that oh so clever twist done a gazillon times before.Might be a good bitter-sweet film for people who see something spiritual in every flower and cockroach on the planet and love those Lifetime dramas. Life really isn't that tough for the privileged folks in Seattle, except for those who decide to make it hard for themselves. My bad, I never developed any compassion for Arthur who never revealed himself as a likable guy until he decided to kill himself for feeling guilty for being a dirt bag. Nice scenery.No sex or nudity. Didn't catch any F-words.

Excellent movie that makes you really think about how life has many twists and turns and sometimes can be pretty rough for a while, and yet as we persevere we eventually see why things happen in our lives the way that they do. Our lives are really a series of unique tests that are individually tailored to each of us so that we can gain useful and crucial experience that helps us grow and be able to deal with each next step we take on our journey of life.The movie has a lot of parallels with Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life: Think of the Japanese man, Takumi Nakamura, that Arthur Brennan meets in the forest as It's a Wonderful Life's Clarence the Angel who jumps off the bridge right as George Bailey is almost ready to jump off, because he knows that George will instinctively jump off to save him, instead of taking his own life. Takumi and Arthur's subsequent conversations and journey trying to find their way back to the trail/parking lot is a lot like George Bailey in the end wanting to get back to his life that he hadn't previously thought of as being anything close to a wonderful life. Very last scene of It's a Wonderful Life is the written message George Bailey receives from Clarence in a copy of Tom Sawyer that states. " No man's life is a failure who has friends." Near the end of Sea of Trees Arthur receives the book Hansel and Gretel in which there is a message from the Takumi that has the season and color that is Matthew's wife's favorite season and color.

I don't understand why the low score for this film. This is one of those films that touched, moved and inspired me. It was recommended by a priest at a memorial for a man who passed away at 83. The priest spoke of marriage, as the departed left behind his wife of fifty plus years. The message was to recognize in ourselves any way in which we lose ourselves and begin to kill off the love and joy between ourselves and our family members, and particularly, our spouse.I was immediately engrossed in the story. I saw pieces of myself in both McConaughey's and Watt's characters. The story deals with love, hope, being lost, getting stuck in anger and resentment, on compassion, redemption, and renewal.It is an edifying story that will resonate in my mind for a long time. It serves as a parable. It is spiritual as well as gripping and suspenseful.