The Tree (film) 2010
Encyclopedia
The Tree is a French-Australian 2010 film co-produced between Australia and France. It was filmed in the small town of Boonah 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 debut novel
Our Father Who Art in The Tree
by Australian writer and performer Judy Pascoe. The film closed the Cannes Film Festival
on 23 May 2010 following the Awards Ceremony and received a seven-minute standing ovation. As well as this, The Tree premiered at the 2010 Sydney Film Festival
. The film is distributed in the U.S. by Zeitgeist Films
, opening on July 15, 2011 in New York, on July 22 in Los Angeles, Boston and Washington, D.C., and throughout the country over the summer.
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 film is a co-production between Australia and France. It came to be a co-production when Julie Bertuccelli was given the book Our Father Who Art in The Tree
from 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 located in the small town of Boonah in the state of Queensland
. It has a 34m spread, 20m height and 2.31m diameter at 1m 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.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and follows the lives of Dawn (Charlotte Gainsbourg
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success...
) and her four children after the unexpected death of her husband Peter (Aden Young
Aden Young
Aden Young is an Australian actor. In recent years he has also turned his hand to filmmaking, directing and writing short films The Rose of Ba Ziz and The Order .- Life and career :Young was born in Toronto, Canada...
). The film is an adaptation of the debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
Our Father Who Art in The Tree
Our Father Who Art in The Tree
Our Father Who Art in The Tree is Judy Pascoe’s debut novel and is written from the perspective of a little girl who believes her late father is living on inside the tree in their backyard. The book was first published in the UK in 2002 but is now out of print. It is available in many languages...
by Australian writer and performer Judy Pascoe. The film closed the Cannes Film Festival
2010 Cannes Film Festival
The 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 12 to May 23, 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films screened in and out of competition during the...
on 23 May 2010 following the Awards Ceremony and received a seven-minute standing ovation. As well as this, The Tree premiered at the 2010 Sydney Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival
The Sydney Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney and is held over 12 days in June. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre and includes features,...
. The film is distributed in the U.S. by Zeitgeist Films
Zeitgeist Films
Zeitgeist Films is an American independent film distributor based in New York City founded in 1988 by co-Presidents Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo. Films distributed by Zeitgeist are strongly auteur-driven by directors such as Christopher Nolan, Guy Maddin, Atom Egoyan, Todd Haynes, Nuri Bilge...
, opening on July 15, 2011 in New York, on July 22 in Los Angeles, Boston and Washington, D.C., and throughout the country over the summer.
Plot
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’ favorite playground: a giant Moreton Bay FigMoreton Bay Fig
Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay Fig, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the Moraceae family that is a native of most of the eastern coast of Australia, from the Atherton Tableland in the north to the Illawarra in New South Wales, and Lord Howe Island. Its common name is...
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.
Production
The Tree was written and directed by Julie Bertuccelli, it is based on the screenplay by Elizabeth J Mars, and produced by Sue Taylor of Taylor Media, Yael Fogiel and Laetitia Gonzalez of Les Films du PoissonLes Films du Poisson
Les Films du Poisson is a French film production company founded in 1995 by Yael Fogiel and Laetitia Gonzalez.The company has produced more than hundred films: features, documentaries and shorts. Many have won awards in France and around the world...
, the film is a co-production between Australia and France. It came to be a co-production when Julie Bertuccelli was given the book Our Father Who Art in The Tree
Our Father Who Art in The Tree
Our Father Who Art in The Tree is Judy Pascoe’s debut novel and is written from the perspective of a little girl who believes her late father is living on inside the tree in their backyard. The book was first published in the UK in 2002 but is now out of print. It is available in many languages...
from 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 located in the small town of Boonah in the state of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. It has a 34m spread, 20m height and 2.31m diameter at 1m 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
Moreton Bay Fig
Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay Fig, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the Moraceae family that is a native of most of the eastern coast of Australia, from the Atherton Tableland in the north to the Illawarra in New South Wales, and Lord Howe Island. Its common name is...
Tree. It is estimated that it was planted in 1880.
- Charlotte GainsbourgCharlotte GainsbourgCharlotte Lucy Gainsbourg is an Anglo-French actress and singer. After releasing an album with her father at the age of fifteen, more than twenty years passed before she released two albums as an adult to commercial and critical success...
as Dawn - Marton CsokasMarton Csokas-Early life:Csokas was born in Invercargill, New Zealand. His mother, a nurse, is of Irish and Danish descent; his Hungarian-born father, also named Márton Csókás, worked as a mechanical engineer...
as George - Aden YoungAden YoungAden Young is an Australian actor. In recent years he has also turned his hand to filmmaking, directing and writing short films The Rose of Ba Ziz and The Order .- Life and career :Young was born in Toronto, Canada...
as Peter - Morgana DaviesMorgana Davies-Filmography:*2010 The Tree*2010 The Hunter*2011 Julian *2011 Terra Nova episode "The Runaway" as Leah Marcos-Awards:*2010 AFI Young Actor Award - Nominated*2010 AFI Best Actress Award - Nominated...
as Simone - Christian ByersChristian ByersChristian Byers is an Australian actor born on 31 July 1993 in Sydney, Australia. In 2006, he made his film debut in Opal Dream, before featuring in December Boys alongside Daniel Radcliffe. In 2007, Christian portrayed Jacob in Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger. Christian is also the lead vocalist,...
as Tim - Tom Russell as Lou
- Gabriel Gotting as Charlie
- Gillian JonesGillian JonesGillian Jones is an Australian actress from Newcastle, New South Wales who is best known for appearances in Twelfth Night, Oscar and Lucinda, Last Train to Freo and the role of Di Paige in the television series Love My Way...
as Vonnie - Penne Hackforth-JonesPenne Hackforth-JonesPenne Hackforth-Jones is an American-born Australian actress and writer.She has a number of television credits such as Bellbird, Homicide, Matlock Police, Division 4, Tandarra, Cash and Company, Young Ramsay, Punishment, Bellamy, A Country Practice, Mother and Son, Tanamera - Lion of Singapore,...
as Mrs Johnson
Soundtrack
Original film music was written and composed by Grégoire Hetzel. The soundtrack features other songs of the film:- "Weak" - Asaf AvidanAsaf AvidanAsaf Avidan is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician,best known for his voice, often compared to Janis Joplin and Robert Plant.He is also the creative force and front-man of folk/rock band Asaf Avidan & the Mojos.- Biography & Early Career :...
& The Mojos (3:34) - "Wake" - Grégoire Hetzel (2:58)
- "The Tree" - Main Theme - Grégoire 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" - Grégoire Hetzel (2:55)
- "Simone's Theme" - Grégoire Hetzel (3:18)
- "The Roots" - Grégoire Hetzel (3:27)
- "Shiver Shiver" - The Slippers (3:48)
- "Under the Branches" - Grégoire Hetzel (3:55)
- "Wounded Tree" - Grégoire Hetzel (3:13)
- "To Build a Home" - The Cinematic OrchestraThe Cinematic OrchestraThe Cinematic Orchestra is a British jazz and electronic outfit, created in 1997 by Jason Swinscoe. The band is signed to Ninja Tune independent record label. In addition to Swinscoe, the band includes PC former DJ Food member on turntables, Luke Flowers , Tom Chant , Nick Ramm , Stuart McCallum ...
(6:12) - "Daydream" (Extra Track) - Grégoire Hetzel (8:45)