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The Sea of Trees

Play trailer 1:56 Poster for The Sea of Trees PG-13 Released Aug 26, 2016 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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17% Tomatometer 52 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
After traveling to Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher (Matthew McConaughey) meets a mysterious stranger (Ken Watanabe) who takes him on a life-changing journey of love, discovery and redemption.
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The Sea of Trees

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Critics Consensus

Dull, maudlin, and fundamentally empty, The Sea of Trees extinguishes the contributions of a talented cast and marks a depressing low point in director Gus Van Sant's career.

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Critics Reviews

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Adam Graham Detroit News Van Sant seems unsure of what kind of movie he's making or what he's trying to say. It's best to just enjoy the scenery and look the other way. Rated: C Sep 2, 2016 Full Review John Hartl Seattle Times No wonder Watts rules the movie. She's playing the only remotely sympathetic character; the men seem consumed by grief and guilt and platitudes. Rated: 1.5/4 Sep 1, 2016 Full Review Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com The Sea of Trees does not work. Rated: 2/4 Aug 26, 2016 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com This schlocky dud from the trailblazing American auteur remains a hard pill to swallow, even for fans of the trio of notable actors headlining. Rated: 1/5 Sep 30, 2020 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Part of the wonder of The Sea of Trees is that Van Sant refuses to ever actually define the journey for his characters or for his audience. Rated: 3.0/4.0 Sep 22, 2020 Full Review Lisa Laman The Spool The underwhelming script for The Sea of Trees keeps weighing down McConaughey's performance as well as the rest of the movie. Aug 28, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Claudio C The Sea of Trees (2015) Yellow Winter 11,621 – 17 Apr 2025 Professor Arthur Brennan (Matthew McConaughey) travels to Tokyo to go to the Aokigahara forest, the Japan suicide forest, to attempt to suicide via OD of pills. He sees a man named Takumi Nakamura (Ken Watanabe) lost in the forest and trying to leave the place. Nakamura tells him that he was demoted at work and decided to end his life cutting his wrists two days ago, but he regretted it since he missed his wife and daughter. Arthur decides to help Nakamura to find the trail to exit from the forest and they tell each other parts of their lives. In flashbacks, Arthur and his wife, the alcoholic realtor Joan Brennan (Naomi Watts), have a troubled marriage since Arthur had betrayed her with a co-worker. When Joan has a nosebleed, she learns that she has a brain tumor and needs risky surgery. They rekindle their love and after the successful surgery, they learn that it is not a malignant tumor. When the ambulance is heading to a hospital with Joan for her recovery, Arthur follows the ambulance with his car and tells her that he does not know her favorite color or season. Before her answer, a truck crashes the ambulance and kills Joan. Meanwhile, Nakamura tells Arthur that the names of his wife and daughter are "Kiiro" and "Fuyu", respectively. Will they survive? “The Sea of Trees” (2015) is a nice movie by Gus Van Sant, with the story of a grieving professor who travels to Japan to end his life at the Suicide Forest Aokigahara. This forest is referred usually in Japanese horror movies, but Gus Van Sant uses the spot in a depressive and dramatic film. The cast is excellent, with Matthew McConaughey, Ken Watanabe and Naomi Watts, but the unpleasant story does not help much. Anyway, for fans of Gus Van Sant is worthwhile watching to know the work of this director. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): “O Mar de Árvores” (“The Sea of Trees”) My Blog: https://maniacosporfilme.wordpress.com/ Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/18/25 Full Review Debbie A Great Cast and really good story overall. Goes without saying it was a little slow. How a man could injure himself that many times in such a short period of time is a little mind boggling. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/27/25 Full Review Katie H Slow burner? Yes. But beautifully filmed? Yes. It's incredible! 100/10 stars! Very mind opening. Matthew does it again! Pulls you into this very REAL thing. Do some research on the forest. It's fascinating how they brought the sad but legend to life Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/25 Full Review Kiro G Its a good slow movie to watch. Good performance by the three leading characters. Sad theme, perfectly to watch on rainy day. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/22/24 Full Review R B It was a predictable story, but the way it was done, I really enjoyed it. I loved hearing a little about Aokigahara Forest aka the Suicide Forest in Japan, as well as some Japanese legends. I don't know if the legends were real or not, but they were interesting. It also made me realize (yet again) that sometimes, its the little things that two people in love do that shows how much you really care. 6/10 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/03/24 Full Review Rebecca v This was a movie I just glanced over and glad I stopped. After the trailer I was invested. I watched the movie alone and it was something you can self reflect on later. Loving, hating someone while having grief was very real. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/21/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Sea of Trees

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Movie Info

Synopsis After traveling to Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher (Matthew McConaughey) meets a mysterious stranger (Ken Watanabe) who takes him on a life-changing journey of love, discovery and redemption.
Director
Gus Van Sant
Producer
Gil Netter, Ken Kao, Kevin Halloran, F. Gary Gray, E. Brian Dobbins, Allen Fischer, Chris Sparling
Screenwriter
Chris Sparling
Distributor
A24
Production Co
Gil Netter, Waypoint Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Some Disturbing Images|Mature Thematic Material|Brief Strong Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 26, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 12, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$14.0K
Runtime
1h 50m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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