Review of The Tree (2010) by Kam B — 20 Oct 2010

The Tree is set in rural Australia and features the usually compelling French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. It is based on the novel by Judy Pascoe which came to the attention of Western Australian producer Sue Taylor and French director Julie Bertucelli.

Bertucelli directs the film and gives it a distinctly European flavour eventhough it is set well and truly in the heart of the Australian rural landscape. She has created a "feeling" rather than a film -- it is slightly dreamy and disconnected and much of it is episodic , as though you are dipping into the story at crucial moments, rather than following a story.

The Tree follows the grief of a family after the sudden and untimely death of their father and husband Peter (Aden Young.) In the opening sequences, it is clear that the father has a special bond with his only daughter Simore (Morgana Davies.) His wife Dawn's (Gainbourg's) grief over his death is overwhelming, to the point she doesn't get out of bed, and children do their best to organise themselves. The focus of the film is on the daughter Simone, almost to the exclusion of the other children. The older ones seem to have walk-on parts, and feature intermittently, so it is hard to get a feel for the familial relationship or their feelings about their father.

The main premise of the film is that Simone believes her father has taken up residence in the Moreton Bay Fig tree beside the house, and that he speaks to her on the whispers of the wind. She almost convinces her mother of the same thing.