The Tree by Gobelins- animated short movie review

Made by an animation school based in France, The Tree is about a father- daughter bond and the message I gathered is, "Love can move mountains". The movie was uploaded on YouTube in 2018. Link is available at the bottom, please scroll below.

The scene begins with a hardworking old man though grown old with years but very hopeful and full of energy. Know how? The reason is his young princess who departed too early.. 

The plot

He goes up a mountain to reach a handpump located at the tip and starts filling his jar till the evening, slides down using his sledge, waters the dried up plant and saves just a drop for himself. Moving back to his hut reminds him of his daughter who left him a reason to live. She was a cheerful little girl, though ailing but a powerful source of positivity throughout the movie. Like every young child, she was an artist expressing her creativity on the walls and yes, what she drew on the wall was a blossoming tree, something she would have barely seen in a place she calls home, a desert. The young father fakes a dried up stick for a plant and ties green fabric to mimic the leaves. The coughing child sees the plant, touches it and gives a warm hug to her father, her smiling face is everything one would desire. As her breath slows down, so does the room which loses its light.

The now orphaned father has no one left but the madeup tree. He throws it in anger but the sketch on the wall reminds him what mattered most to his child. He picks it up and makes it his reason to live.

The style of the movie

A desert is a windy place and is well depicted in the movie. I love that the movements of the sun are precisely shown and how it is used for storytelling, that is the old man is pumping up the water from morning till evening. After filling his jar, he is wise and knows that sliding down the mountain is a better option. The sledge has seen him growing old and it remains with him throughout the movie. The most mesmerizing thing I found was the gasp of the ailing princess everytime she sees her father and the way she 'yays'. The child, though sick, is always positive while he is a grim man. Though she departed , she left her positivity and gave a reason for the old man to live. How? Well, I am not allowed to say that, haha.

At last, tell me if you understood what the heap of sand at the end meant and what it represents. 

Link to the video as promised 🙂  🔗