- Planting a tree has a simple and direct objective. Whoever complies with it will be able to see it grow and then enjoy its shadow. You will enjoy its perfume and the song of the birds sheltered in its branches. An ineffective and authoritarian regime will not tolerate what is done without express consent, not even in the case of beautiful and productive acts, to hold onto power beyond all reason. A tree roots and thrives to flourish. And eventually, even when the visible is torn away, its essence will find a way to overcome it to last.
- The film starts with real hands opening a book which bears the title, and placing it in horizontal position. The story is presented opening this pop-up book, and the whole of it happens inside its pages. Each page is a different place where the narration takes place. The characters are, like the book itself: paper cut outs in a pop-up display. Everything is made from brilliant colored paper. The film story is carried along with the lyrics and music of an existing song which has been recreated for this film. The song speaks about resilience and endurance in a very simple but poetic style. Aftter the cover and the first two pages where you can read the name of the film and the names of the authors of the song, the first scenery opens to represent the colonial city of Asunción, now Paraguay and formerly a very important city in the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata. This Viceroyalty was established in 1776 and it extended roughly over the present-day territories of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. The Viceroy, depending from the Spanish Crown was then the local ruling authority. As the lyrics say: "If you go up to Asunción, ask the Lord Viceroy if I can plant a tree to watch it grow", in successive pages you can see the Viceroy resting on a worn out armchair shaking unwillingly a hand fan, and in the next scene, a tree which could be growing in the territory of the Viceroyalty. The song continues and it is becomes clear that to plant a laurel tree there has to be permission given from the authorities in Europe through the local governor representative in America. The procedure to grant permission is followed, and this takes a long time. So, while the royal answer is being awaited for, the tree has already been planted, the tree grows taller and taller and its branches get full of birds. At the time these actions take place, the song plays: "You asked my permission, Sir, and I asked the Viceroy's, the Viceroy wrote to Spain to ask the King's, the King asked the Queen if they could plant the laurel tree. The laurel tree flew birds without Spain's permission." After ten years, there is a verdict: there is no permission for the tree to be planted. The King in Spain decides the tree has to be cut down, no matter how big it has grown. Once this is accomplished, rising from sadness, the tree becomes a guitar with which one can go on singing: "Holding the tree in my hands I sing to you, Sir, without Spain's permission and with a laurel guitar. All the River Plate sings laurel, laureley". The images show how the tree has turned into a guitar. As the film ends, you can see trees scattered rising and growing all over the territory of the former Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata, while the song's refrain is sung. The pop-up book is then closed: "The Tree has been Planted".
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