The Cannes Film Festival is known for being the home for some spectacular flops over the years, and last spring, that honor went to Gus Van Sant‘s "The Sea Trees." Oliver Lyttelton said it “mixes the thrills of ‘Gerry’ with the subtlety of ‘Finding Forrester’ and the originality of the ‘Psycho’ redo,” which is to say, it’s not very good, and it’s not a big surprise the movie was kept off the festival circuit after that.
Starring Matthew McConaughey, Ken Watanabe, and Naomi Watts, the movie follows a suicidal American on his way to die in the the dense Aokigahara forest near Mt. Fuji, who befriends a Japanese man lost in the woods, and the two search for a way out. Here’s the synopsis from Cannes:
Arthur Brennan (McConaughey) treks into Aokigahara, known as the Sea of Trees, a mysterious dense forest at the base of Japan’s Mount Fuji where people go to contemplate life and death. Having found the perfect place to die, Arthur encounters Takumi Nakamura (Watanabe), a Japanese man who has also lost his way. The two men begin a journey of reflection and survival, which affirms Arthur’s will to live and reconnects him to his love with his wife (Watts).
"The Sea Of Trees" opens on April 29th in Japan, and will be released stateside by Roadside Attractions, but no date has been given just yet. Watch the first international trailer below. [Vlicious]