MovieChat Forums > The Sea of Trees (2016) Discussion > I loved it!!

I loved it!!

posted 8 years ago by danallen-57704
21 replies | jump to latest

Great movie!! Awesome performances. Beautiful cinematography. Brilliant directing by Van Sant. And an amazing story!! Loved it! I literally have NO idea why this was booed at Cannes. One of the best films I have seen in a while! People are crazy these days. I may be weird and different for loving this film - but I just can't get over why people hated it so much. Wish there were more films like it. Definitely in the top 5 films I have ever seen. Big call? Not sure just yet. I've seen it once, and will watch it again in another week or so. Great job Van Sant!

[–] omendata 8 years ago

Me too absolutely fantastic movie , just finished watching it.
People who hate it are probably the usual couch potatoes whose idea of a good movie
is lots of cgi , violence and no story.

This type of movie I think is too deep for the majority if that was the case of it being slated and disliked that says more about people these days than it does about the movie.

Its uncle Frank Kirsty!
Its time to play!

[–] danallen-57704 8 years ago

Totally agree man! I can't count the amount of times I have fallen asleep on the couch watching certain "good" movies these days - And I'm talking about the ones that get rave reviews and generally have lots of CGI in them. Not that I'm against it, it's just that it generally tends to take away from the creativity, including most of all the storyline, character development, actor performances, etc. It's a shame. And you're exactly right - it really does say more about people these days. And it's such a shame that an awesome movie like this gets booed at such a prominent film festival. I really can't fault the film hey. I'm actually really looking forward to watching it again. That's how I know it's a good movie - when I wanna go back and see it all again.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] omendata 8 years ago

lol like Now You See Me 2 it was a CGI fest with weak story and terrible casting and script.

I liked the first movie but neither compare to this movie its a bit of a masterpiece imho

Yeah there are certain movies you can watch numerous times like John Carpenters THE THING or PREDATOR or NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON or PANDORUM (I'm actually Scifi Horror fan myself but i watch anything good) there are a few on my list.

Its uncle Frank Kirsty!
Its time to play!

[–] danallen-57704 8 years ago

Haha yeah I haven't built up the courage to see that one yet. I saw the trailer and thought, "oh man!". As soon as I heard who the director was - Jon Chu - I knew what kind of movie it would be. My friends who saw it said the same.

[–] Lin301 8 years ago

I've seen it a while back, thought it was terrible (the script that is). Wonder if they changed some stuff for this latest release? Does it still end with the Japanese guy being some kind of ghost and Matthew McConaughey finding his dead wife in a flower or something after cheesy flashback montage? (I already have trouble remembering how it exactly went down, I just remember the cheesy supernatural turn feeling sooo out of place after a supposedly down to earth movie)

[–] danallen-57704 8 years ago

Maybe they did change it? It ended with the Japanese guy being a figment of Matthew McConaughey's imagination -acting more as his subconscious. He found the flower at the end, but it wasn't his dead wife. More of a symbolic gesture that he remembered she loved orchids (again, to do with his subconscious). No cheesy flashback montage took place. No cheesy supernatural turn. I actually felt the ended really honoured the movie.

[–] michalgrevenielsen 8 years ago

I thought the movie was decent - but I kinda knew the whole plot and the ending after like 10-15 minutes. That takes away a lot I do have to say. But otherwise a nice and sweet movie.

[–] danallen-57704 8 years ago

Yeah, likewise, I kinda knew what would happen in the end after the first 15 minutes or so. But for this movie, that didn't take away anything for me. It's so hard to surprise people these days. And I really don't think that was the aim of the director and writer. They know the audience isn't stupid. Van Sant has been around for too long just to make a cheesy, cliche kinda movie. I think the problem is that the audience didn't understand this. Looking at the movie through the right lense, having no expectations - surprise ending or not - is the way to go. It's a shame more movies aren't like this one.

[–] omendata 8 years ago

How can you watch the movie and not get it?
Man that just shows how many potatoes are on here watching movies.

Watanabe was his wife in spirit form.
His name translated from Japanese was Yellow Winter.
The two last questions he asked his wife before she died in the ambulance - "whats your favourite colour" and "season" then there were her orchids in the lake garden - He didnt believe in the afterlife or God as a scientist and that was part of the ending and a major part of the plot that he gained insight into something beyond science - the movie was rather intelligent but it seems most of the people who watched it arent - there are w hole load of other pointers like the book etc etc etc did you fall asleep?
Man thats lame real lame!

Its uncle Frank Kirsty!
Its time to play!

[–] cvern49 8 years ago

Well summed up. I found the film very atmospheric, beautifully shot,and perhaps too subtle for many. I didn't find the pacing slow, I was prepared not to like it because others reaction to it, but really enjoyed it and pleasantly more world cinema than the usual American hogwash. I will see it again.

[–] the-author 8 years ago

His name translated from Japanese was Yellow Winter.

That was the names of his 'wife' and 'daughter'

His name can mean Takumi- Sea and Nakamura - middle of forest

The Sea of Trees

[–] Yabeina (185) 7 years ago

He didn't remember they don't grow in dirt, though. There's a reason they're found clinging to bark and rocks. You need to plant them in bark and rocks, not dirt.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] simian_ninja 8 years ago

I liked it as well, giving it a 7/10, I didn't think it was anything spectacular but I thought the film was fine. It kind of reminded me of "Dragonfly" a bit, especially with the ending 'twist'.

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Death is the standard breach for a complex prize.

[–] Toolman911 8 years ago

I really loved it as well!

[–] workbumpf 8 years ago

They should NEVER have shown this film at Cannes. It's far too uncynical and definitely not a film to appeal to critics with intellectual pretensions.

It's a very good film though and a shame it's become a 'whipping boy'.

I predict it will become a 'film maudit' which ends up having a longer life that some of the hyper-pretentious films critics praise. Has ANYBODY watched Birdman since it got an Oscar?

[–] mmq1 8 years ago

Cannes? too busy buggering each other and making deals with drug dealers to finance films.

[–] Lava-Rocks 8 years ago

Great movie.

[–] dbh850 8 years ago

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! I am wondering WHY this was booed at Cannes. Absolutely gobsmacked. Just BEAUTIFUL!

You know what they say... no one with missing teeth wears an Armani suit.

[–] dorsiares (8) 8 years ago

I just watched it last night but was very distracted by my cell phone and dinner. I still was compelled by several parts of the movie and even the ending, but thought I was missing a big part of the story (what 'yellow winter' meant, and the Hansel and Gretel book!). I normally wouldn't re-watch but it was good enough to give it another shot this morning and I loved it. Am really shocked that it got awful reviews and a lot of people seem to think it's the worst movie of 2015 (!?). I found it to be beautiful.