Good concept, poorly executed.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

When it's all in your head! I found this a bit of an odd movie but I liked it more then I thought I would after the first 10 minutes - 'How Harry Became a Tree' stars Colm Meaney, Cillian Murphy and Adrian Dunbar. It's a 'funny tragedy'.Typically Irish but could easily be transplanted to any nation or any era I imagine. Harry (Meaney) causes a feud when there is no reason for one and entangles his son (Murphy) and locals in a web of deceit and while he plots revenge for many imagined slights.I am Irish and 'How Harry Became a Tree' is set in 1920's Ireland. I always fear that movies set in Ireland in this era give a very bad picture to foreigners about the Ireland of today.There is of course a world of difference between then and now but sometimes Hollywood doesn't seem to have copped on to that - 'Leap Year' being the most recent paddywhackery schtick I can think of.I think 'How Harry Became a Tree' would have been a much better movie if the writer / director / producer etc etc had been brave enough to set it in contemporary Ireland.

Perhaps the problem with this movie is the fact that the director is a Serbian filmmaker. Or that the co-writer is his wife. It could be that his Balkan background was ill equipped to adapt a Chinese story to a 1920's Irish village. (Maybe the multi-national money people behind this project insisted on using Ireland.) Whatever the reason, when you name your leading character "Meaney", portray virtually all the characters in a realistic style and then have the main character turn into a tree, then you've got a melange that sinks under the woven strands of too many stylistic ideas. I would also like to comment on the cinematographer's lighting (though ultimately the director has to o.k. the look when he sees the dailies.) Disclaimer: I worked as a lighting technician in the mainstream U.S. film industry for 25 years. Most of the time when movies are transferred from film/digital to DVD, the bottom line is to do it as cheaply as one can. One really can't fairly comment on good lighting or bad lighting because of this (this cheap approach also heavily impacts sound transfer). But in this film the aesthetic behind many of the interior scenes was that of a hack; let's bash the light in and shoot it. There's way too much "flat" lighting. That is, no contrast in the light on faces or objects EVEN THOUGH THE LIGHT SOURCES LEND THEMSELVES TO GREAT POTENTIAL LIGHTING; lighting that could help further the story.Good performances don't make it when they are serving a poor story in a technically flawed movie.

I went seeing this movie with a group of teaching colleagues at the annual International Film Festival of Gent. It was indeed a festive occasion and we all felt very happy and high-spirited afterwards. I won't easily forget this film and will always highly recommend it to all the people I love, not in the least the students that have been appointed to me.For indeed I believe in the introductory comment by Goran Paskaljevic, the director of this beautiful film, whose presence together with that of the wonderfully acting Colm Meany was of course also part of an utmost enjoyable cinematographic evening.Mr Paskaljevic expressed two things during the measured time of the interview. He hoped that the audience would have a real good laugh and that after leaving his film one would consider the reason(s) for having an enemy.I forgot about the audience, but the movie did certainly make me laugh. And there can only be one consideration : how unwise it is to have an enemy in one's lifetime. Harry did not become the tree of life.

I had the pleasure of seeing the world premiere of this film at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is a wonderfully funny movie with a great performance by Colm Meaney.The script borrows from a Chinese story, but is placed in Ireland. The film is well-paced, beautifully shot, and includes wonderful performances by all involved.