{"id":1300,"date":"2016-11-10T06:17:52","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T06:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/?p=1300"},"modified":"2016-11-22T04:29:11","modified_gmt":"2016-11-22T04:29:11","slug":"angels-sea-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/11\/angels-sea-trees.html","title":{"rendered":"“Angels” in The Sea of Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sea of Trees<\/em>\u00a0(out now on DVD) reminds me of one of those famous inspirational stories.<\/p>\n

Yes, it is a story containing a suicidal theme and there\u2019s a mysterious touch of Spiritism, but wait a minute.<\/p>\n

When school teacher Arthur Breenan goes to Japan\u2019s \u201cSuicide Forest\u201d to do the unthinkable after a family tragedy, he meets Japanese man Takumi Nakamura. This is significant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Ken<\/a>
Ken Watanabe (Pictured) played Takumi in The Sea of Trees. (Image sourced via google images).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\u00a0Takumi could be a blessing in disguise for Breenan.<\/p>\n

It can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

But I overlooked this problem. I excused it because it\u2019s more important for life to win over this kind of death. Takumi signals the possibilities of redemption and a new start. It\u2019s like Takumi is a \u201cguardian angel\u201d. It\u2019s like someone up there as they say is looking after Breenan.<\/p>\n

The scenario reminds me of a famous inspirational story.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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, \u201cI carried you\u201d.\u00a0 Though God is not mentioned or religion or Christianity, that is still the gist of The Sea of Trees<\/em>. Arthur Breenan had been carried through his trials and there\u2019s that \u201cguardian angel\u201d by his side.<\/p>\n

For my previous posts about The Sea of Trees<\/em> please visit:<\/p>\n

Seriously lost<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sea of Trees<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sea of Trees\u00a0(out now on DVD) reminds me of one of those famous inspirational stories. Yes, it is a story containing a suicidal theme and there\u2019s a mysterious touch of Spiritism, but wait a minute. 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