L'homme qui plantait des arbres (1987)

Director:

Frédéric Back

Writers:

Jean Giono (story) and
Jean Roberts (translator: English version)

Release Date:

11 June 1988 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Drama | Family

Plot:

The story of one shepherd's long and successful singlehanded effort to re-forest a desolate valley.

Plot Keywords:

Forest | France | Shepherd | Ecology | 1910s

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Philippe Noiret	...	Récitant / Narrator (voice: French version)
Christopher Plummer	...	Narrator (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

The Man Who Planted Trees (Canada: English title) (USA)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Unrated

Company:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Trivia:

Jean Giono, the author of the short story upon which the movie is based, wrote the story after American editors in 1953 asked him to write a few pages about an unforgettable character. They intended him to write about a real unforgettable character, but he created the fictional Elezeard Bouffier. When the editors objected that no Bouffier had died in Banon, he donated the story to all humanity. It was soon after published by Vogue in 1954. Many people have assumed that Bouffier is a real person.

Should be a classic

I can't remember the last time I was so moved by an animated film. It is truly a work of art, lyrical, and inspired. The story is a very nice parable, but the way it was told by the artist here is incredibly moving. Many years of work (eight?)by the team of animators headed by Frederick Back created this 30-minute film. Only the loving product of the heart and of the right brain could yield art like this. Christopher Plummer's voice evokes the wise elder of the film's subject, and the music provides a background that blends well with the gentle crayon and charcoal drawings that form this work, but it is the drawings that are the centerpiece, in my opinion, although some might say it was the story. The work moved me to tears without any of the manipulation of most modern films. I could imagine children and teenagers being inspired and moved by this, also, and I think it should be shown to all children. I echo other viewers' recommendation that this would make a wonderful gift for someone you love, at any age.