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The Willow Tree

Play trailer Poster for The Willow Tree 2005 1h 36m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Youssef fears his life will never be the same after leaving home to have his cancer treated in France.

Critics Reviews

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Jeff Shannon Seattle Times 01/25/2008
3/4
This is powerful stuff. Go to Full Review
Frank Scheck The Hollywood Reporter 09/10/2007
Majidi infuses his simple yet eloquent tale with stunning imagery designed to make us relate to Youssef's reawakening. Go to Full Review
Stephen Holden New York Times 08/03/2007
4/5
Explicitly religious, intensely poetic meditations, filled with recurrent symbols and suffused with a spirit of divine apprehension. [It is] sad beyond measure. Go to Full Review
Prairie Miller NewsBlaze 05/15/2008
Perhaps Majidi intended wry commentary and observation of the dubious influences of Western culture on Iran, where outside scientific, technological and material advances impart a knowledge that is not necessarily likewise wisdom, enlightenment or virtue. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 05/12/2008
B
Teeters on the edge of overwrought melodrama but is saved by the convincing performance of Parvis Parastui. Go to Full Review
Bill White Seattle Post-Intelligencer 01/24/2008
B+
Iranian director Majid Majidi... takes his place alongside Robert Bresson as a master of sacred cinema. His Iran is a place of natural beauty so intense that even the sightless can experience its splendor. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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dave s 04/06/2021 The Willow Tree is the story of Youseff, a loving husband and doting father. Blind since the age of eight, he travels from his home in Iran to Paris for medical reasons, where it is discovered that his sight can be restored. This is a film about temptation, faith, and the acceptance of circumstance. Featuring a great performance from Parviz Parastui in the lead role, rich cinematography with beautifully composed shots, and a story filled with irony, symbolism, and heartbreak, director Majid Majidi's film is a thoughtful examination of human nature and the fragility of relationships. See more 03/28/2015 One of Parastui's most powerful performances! A story of faith and lust! See more 06/03/2013 So awesome, yet so simple. Reminds me of Satyajit Ray's films. Watch it before you bid adieu to this world. See more 02/06/2013 Slow paced but wonderfully acted drama from Iran. Youssef is a man who, despite his condition as invident, has a beautiful house, a wife and a daughter, plus a fine job as teacher in a University... a good life. He constantly prays to God for compassion and suddenly his prayers seemed to be answered with a surgery that gives, not only his eyes, but the what he thinks is the opportunity of rearrange his life has he wants... screwing it all in the way. See more 10/05/2012 Great movie and nothing else. No intersections in the different scenes movie continues with the same level. Soundtrack of the movie, the ant in the begining and in the end of the movie, the quotes of Morteza, Yosef's inner realm, his childish character, his fear, his dreams..... See more 07/24/2011 A beautifully sad narration of a man coming to terms with his vision after 38 years of blindness. See more Read all reviews
The Willow Tree

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Movie Info

Synopsis Youssef fears his life will never be the same after leaving home to have his cancer treated in France.
Director
Majid Majidi
Producer
Majid Majidi
Screenwriter
Majid Majidi, Fouad Nahas, Nasser Hashemzadeh
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Persian
Box Office (Gross USA)
$25.5K
Runtime
1h 36m