''How Harry Became a Tree'' is a 2001 drama film directed by

Goran Paskaljević Goran Paskaljević ( sr-cyr, Горан Паскаљевић; ; 22 April 1947 – 25 September 2020) was a Serbian and former Yugoslav film director. Biography Born in Belgrade, he was raised by his grandparents in Niš in southern Serbia, foll ...

. It is based on a Chinese story ''Lao Dan'' by Yang Zhengguang and deals allegorically with the Irish and Balkan civil wars.

Plot

In rural Ireland in 1924, Harry Maloney (Colm Meaney), believing "a man is measured by his enemies", nurses an unjustified enmity for George O'Flaherty, who owns the local pub and most of the businesses in the area and is the local matchmaker. When Harry's son Gus (Cillian Murphy), upon whom Harry regularly heaps mental and verbal abuse falls for George's maidservant, Eileen, George helps put the two together. George's seduction of Eileen gives Harry the opportunity to create a scandal, despite the effect on his own family.

Cast

Colm Meaney Colm J. Meaney (; ; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor. Known for his performances across screen and stage, he has received seven nominations from the Irish Film & Television Academy, winning twice for 2001's '' How Harry Became a Tree'', and ...

- Harry Maloney *

Adrian Dunbar Adrian Dunbar (born 1 August 1958) is an Irish actor, director, and singer from Northern Ireland, known for his television and theatre work. He co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film '' Hear My Song'', nominated for Best Original Screenplay at t ...

- George *

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy ( ; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. His works encompass both stage and screen, and his accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He made his professional debut in Enda Walsh's 1996 pl ...

- Gus Maloney *

Kerry Condon Kerry Condon (born 9 January 1983) is an Irish actress. She was the youngest actress to play Ophelia in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of ''Hamlet'' (2001–2002). She played Octavia of the Julii in ''Rome (TV series), Rome'' (2005–200 ...

- Eileen *

Pat Laffan Patrick Laffan (8 June 1939 – 14 March 2019) was an Irish actor. Laffan is best remembered for playing the lothario milkman Pat Mustard in the Channel Four sitcom ''Father Ted'' episode "Speed 3" (1998), and Mr Burgess in Roddy Doyle R ...

- Father O'Connor * Gail Fitzpatrick - Margaret

Reception

Reviewing the film in

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a monthly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who cont ...

, Craig Fitzsimons wrote "though flawed, How Harry Became A Tree would probably qualify as the most effective example of homegrown bucolic melodrama since

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...

's '' The Butcher Boy'' adaptation".

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

said that it was "a comic and improbably loving meditation on hate, absurdist but never abstract, using Ireland in 1924 as a stand-in for the former Yugoslavia."

References

External links

* Italian drama films French drama films British drama films Irish drama films 2001 drama films 2001 films Films set in Ireland Films set in 1924 English-language Italian films English-language French films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films 2000s French films Cattleya films {{2000s-drama-film-stub