There is much laughter from the audience for this wonderful film, but the laughs gradually become uneasy and scarce as we realize this charmingly presented tale is not a comedy but a little tragedy, after all. The ineffable Colm Meaney (as Harry Maloney) gives the performance of a lifetime as an ignorant but sly peasant farmer who happens to be Irish, but could be any nationality. The story is from a Chinese source; a multinational cast and crew underscore the point. Think Balkans; think Chechyna; think Quebec; think Alabama -- rural places where people have hated others for so long no one knows why. It's a classic tragic tale: Harry entangles his family and neighbors in his web of anger and revenge for imagined slights because he really can't do anything else. The skies and hills are stunningly beautiful, and every detail of the film is pitch-perfect. Go, be charmed and laugh, but be prepared to stop laughing when the sadness of these lives overwhelms you. A fine movie!
Review of How Harry Became a Tree
