The Tree (1993 film)
The Tree is a 1993 short film that Todd Field created while a fellow at the AFI Conservatory. It is a non-verbal dramatic piece following the life of a boy born at the turn of the century. The single setting, an apple tree set high on a rural ridge, is where we glimpse the boy mature, fall in love, go to war, return with his own son, and finally pay his last respects as a very old man who has seen much change. The set was designed using the tree as a scale foreground visual anchor and employing forced perspective for other items appearing in frame, including distant mountains, a train, and a town in transition. The scene changes from season to season and year to year all achieved practically using trompe-l'œil.
| The Tree | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Todd Field |
| Written by | Todd Field |
| Starring | Travis Martin Jameson Baltes Jason D'Rion Matthew Modine |
| Music by | Mab Ashforth |
Release date |
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Running time | 12 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The film is loosely based upon and inspired by the story The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.