L'arbre de sang

This is very well acted, filmed, and produced, but disruptively structured, with a plot weakness and too much left unsaid. And call me a naïve idealist, but I was unhappy that the ending leaves Justice imperfectly satisfied. Or rather, that the main characters seem to have no problem with the final status quo.

And so, "The Tree of Blood" is difficult to rate. I wanted to know, what was the big secret of Rebeca's and Marc's relationship? Getting there was an interesting pain in the rear. Interesting, because a great deal is going on; the film is full of intrigue, action, love, lust, and betrayal; the main characters win our sympathy. A pain because of shifts back and forth in time, the necessarily large number of inter-related characters to track, and the short shrift given to a few details.

The setting shifts repeatedly between past and present, and in several scenes, characters of the present are shown standing in the action of the past, watching but not interacting. This disrupts the flow, yes, but not horribly so. Where the structure fails is that it falsely implies that Rebeca's and Marc's storytelling - the wrapper around the events of the past - are a fact-finding mission. You realize in the end that she had all the facts before they began, and only one key event was unknown to him.

The presence of Russian and Ukrainian mafias in Basque Country, and especially why they should happen to conflict with the other characters, was unclear. Perhaps - although I doubt it - events such as these are so taken for granted in Spain that they literally need no introduction. The rest of us could have used some clarity.

As symbology, the tree itself fell flat.

Julio Medem also directed "Sex and Lucia", which had a somewhat less convoluted plot structure and which worked much better in the end. And his "Room in Rome" was almost purely linear, but still spellbinding. "The Tree of Blood" just doesn't quite measure up to those works.

Being accustomed to US movies, I thought this was a good way to present a family story, and a number of love stories. The psychological evolutions were interesting, and there were elements of intrigue. Good story and acting. What more could you want?

This gripping tale moves with fast intensity to weave a complex story, uncoiling to reveal the details that allow the joining of dots, just as the characters themselves unearth and share the family secrets which create the big picture. Vivid characters are played to the core with operatic emotion in their playful journey of self and mutual discovery. Story, settings, languages and and stunning fiming cover distinct regions of Spain to ultimately unite them in their viscerally connected way. This film is larger than life, totally gripping and needs several rewatches to gather up all the whirlwind strands - a carefully crafted and unique offering.

With a lot of branches and a lot of secrets ... and a lot of timelines too. You may wonder from time to time or start the guessing game (as to where this is heading), but it will still have surprises along the way. It will also have nudity and violence on full display.

So if any of this is offensive to you - you might want to stear clear from this. Certain things have to happen and the going back and forth (no pun intended) serves the story well. The acting is good and if you are into mystery you will cherish what this tries and achieves to do. Solid as a rock and another example of a good thriller coming from Spain

A couple decides to write a story and solve the missing links among them as their parents have inter relationships of all nature and all in unusual way. They one by one solve the missing strings and unfold the what has happened really... To arrive at the final conclusion and so on the usual infidelity, Lesbian marriage, Organ Transplant, exotic love scenes, age difference couple, Oedipus complex, hanging relationships, tell truth to partner no matter what all possible covered . With typical bull accident usage of bull run Spanish background filmed. Cute couple and one Olmo character faithful to all human instinct crafted very well. Even the heroine of the film admires him a lot. By doing so too much of flashback is used at times a little confusing too... but over all when its a mystery to be opened it is expected. Director does that job precisely. Being very intense movie it will make complexities not easy to negotiate.