The Sea of Trees (out now on DVD) reminds me of one of those famous inspirational stories.
Yes, it is a story containing a suicidal theme and there’s a mysterious touch of Spiritism, but wait a minute.
When school teacher Arthur Breenan goes to Japan’s “Suicide Forest” to do the unthinkable after a family tragedy, he meets Japanese man Takumi Nakamura. This is significant.
Takumi looks just like another guy passing into the forest to contemplate the meaning of life if he can get that far in his thinking. Like Breenan he seems depressed about life, too, so any contemplation of the positive is difficult, but Takumi could be a blessing in disguise for Breenan.
It can’t happen I hear me cry. How would this blessing in disguise come at just the moment a man is about to end his life? This is a problem. We need our films to be believable, not phony.
But I overlooked this problem. I excused it because it’s more important for life to win over this kind of death. Takumi signals the possibilities of redemption and a new start. It’s like Takumi is a “guardian angel”. It’s like someone up there as they say is looking after Breenan.
The scenario reminds me of a famous inspirational story.
I don’t remember the name of this story, but once I explain it, you may have heard it. However, I don’t remember the details, but at least this is the gist of it.
In a nutshell, a man had been through troubles and problems in life, and he questioned where God was during those times. Then God showed the man footsteps next to him when he went through those trials. He told the man, “I carried you”. Though God is not mentioned or religion or Christianity, that is still the gist of The Sea of Trees. Arthur Breenan had been carried through his trials and there’s that “guardian angel” by his side.
For my previous posts about The Sea of Trees please visit:
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