A few years ago, I met a middle-aged blind man who had an amazing experience in his life, dealing with blindness and sight. As I was talking to him, I began to ask myself about the difference between perceptions of beauty and serenity in the real world and the world of the blind. I realized, after he talked more about his experience, that, when a man recovers his sight, there is an inevitable conflict between these perceptions. For Yusef, the blind man of my film, serenity comes from his little balcony, the sound of nature and the angelic voices and touches of his family. The beauty is in his mind and ugliness does not exist. He is like Adam in the garden of Paradise, both protected and powerful. I wanted to explore what would happen to his serenity and his sense of control if he was taken out of Paradise.
When Yusef is exposed to the visual world, the beauty he encounters is compelling and frustratingly elusive. Ugliness and strangeness is everywhere. The aggressive presence of the world gradually silences the dialog he had with God and himself. I realized that when a man becomes deaf to his inner dialog and ignore the positive messages the world send him, the only actions he could do would be selfish, violent and destructive. When fate tests us, our life, if not built on firm foundations, often collapses . For Yusef, the tests that life put on him reduced him to the powerlessness of a small God's creature. I still wonder what this child-man would do with the new life he is now begging for....
Majid Majidi (2005)
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- How long is The Willow Tree?1 hour and 36 minutes
- When was The Willow Tree released?August 3, 2007
- What is the IMDb rating of The Willow Tree?7.3 out of 10
- Who stars in The Willow Tree?
- Who wrote The Willow Tree?
- Who directed The Willow Tree?
- Who was the composer for The Willow Tree?
- Who was the producer of The Willow Tree?
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- What is the plot of The Willow Tree?Youssef, a blind university professor, is suddenly diagnosed with a fatal disease and must undergo treatment in France. Back home, will he find the life he had before?
- How much did The Willow Tree earn at the worldwide box office?$51,500
- How much did The Willow Tree earn at the US box office?$25,800
- What is The Willow Tree rated?PG
- What genre is The Willow Tree?Drama
- How many awards has The Willow Tree won?2 awards
- How many awards has The Willow Tree been nominated for?4 nominations
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