Synopsis
Unlike insensitive adults, children are sensitive enough to feel rapport with inanimate objets. Popia, the nine-year-old boy in < The Tree >, feels a special bond with a towering tree. What is it about this tree shrouded in inscrutable mystery that the boy feels a peculiar bond with it's This question is the starting point of the film. To bring the question to the surface, the film uses a fatal car accident in which a man is hit and killed by a car coming at full speed. The dead man is none other than Popia's abusive stepfather. The police, however, suspect Popia's mother of killing her husband. However, the autopsy result shows fungal infection to be the cause of death. The question remains: how did he get infected with fungi? Is there a direct connection between the death of Popia's stepfather and the bond between the child and the tree? < The Tree > is a mystery thriller about the supernatural, and as the puzzle is pieced together, the film transforms into a melodrama about human relations. The story goes back to show Popia's intense longing for his real father, his relationship with his mother, and the relationship between the pathologist and the father, becoming a heartfelt human story told with much care. Daisy Chen, adds a warm and sensitive touch to the story. (HONG Sung-nam)