How Harry Became a Tree

Colour, 35mm
Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, France, 2001, 100 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

The year is 1924. Skillet is a remote little village in western Ireland. Harry Maloney is as stormy in temperament as the local weather and as roughly hewn as the surrounding landscape. A widower who has also lost a beloved son and who lives in a run-down house with his younger boy, Gus, is pursued by a dream. In the dream he turns into a tree whose wood is then used for a coffin. Harry is his own man, convinced that his strength is measured by the position and might of his opponent. And so he chooses as his enemy George, a publican and the most powerful man for miles around. The latter has just become a father and he brings in the village girl Eileen as his new helper. At the christening Gus already has his eye on her and, for George the matchmaker, it’s easy to arrange a wedding between the two, even against Harry’s will. One day, Harry discovers that George is having an affair with his son’s wife and he now has a fitting excuse to embark upon a witch hunt without a thought to the consequences for all concerned.

About the director

Goran Paskaljević (b. 1947, Belgrade) studied at FAMU during the years 1967-71. He began mainly by making documentaries and shorts. In 1967 he made his feature debut with Beach Guard in Winter (Critics’ Award at the Berlin IFF). This was followed by the films The Dog Who Loved Trains (l878), Special Treatment (l98O), Twilight Time (l982), Elusive Summer of ’68 (l984), Tango Argentino (l992), Someone Else’s America (l995) and The Powder Keg (l998). He has won many important festival awards. The Powder Keg was screened at the 34th Karlovy Vary IFF in the Horizons section. The absurd comedy How Harry Became a Tree was inspired by a Chinese short story which the filmmakers transferred to 1920’s Ireland.