Dir: Eugene Green | Cast: Ruin Pedro Silva, Ana Moreira, Joao Arrais, Leonor Silveira | Drama 100’ 2025
Admirers of Eugene Green (1947-) will instantly recognise his wry and resonating brand of visual storytelling in The Tree of Knowledge the latest absurdist comedy curio from the New York born French filmmaker.
The Portuguese capital of Lisbon provides a serene backdrop but the characters are detached and tense in an allegorical parable with the titular tree serving as a metaphor for spiritual awakening. Green contemplates the fallout of the mass tourism boom in Europe’s capital cities and how, in order to better deal with this shifting dynamic, we must try to adopt a more positive outlook. Once again, using a whimsical approach and mild satire, he explores the intrinsic bond between humans and animals; here a donkey and a golden retriever. There is also the usual lame dig at President Trump.
The Tree of Knowledge centres on Gaspard (Rui Pedro Silva), a conflicted teenager who runs away from home only to find himself in thrall to an angry weirdo called The Ogre, who has apparently made a pact with the Devil. The Ogre uses the boy to attract tourists, whom he transforms into animals, and even eats. Gaspard eventually bonds with a dog and donkey. With The Ogre in hot pursuit, the three of them escape to a magical castle where they come across the ghost of Queen D. (Maria I of Portugal) who represents the city’s past and cultural underpinnings. Meanwhile, Gaspard finds himself undergoing a series of trials to prove his integrity.
The camera moves along at a leisurely pace, the characters speaking their lines sombrely and clearly almost as if they’re taking part in a fantastical Greek tragedy. The framing is precise and considered, the characters earnest, the lighting luminous in this charming but rather overlong drama that often drifts in offering its upbeat message of hope. @MeredithTaylor
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