Sea of Trees seemed like a surefire awards contender when it traveled to last year’s Cannes film festival. After all, the drama stars Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey, Oscar nominees Ken Watanabe and Naomi Watts and is directed by Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant. However, after reports of scathing responses and even boos from some of the crowd in France, Roadside and Lionsgate delayed the release, and some doubted if the film would ever land in theaters.
Doubt no more, because A24 came to Van Sant’s rescue and acquired the film. The studio will release it in theaters and on digital platforms in a few weeks, and the new trailer looks promising.
In the movie, McConaughey plays Arthur Brennan, a distraught professor who travels to Japan and wanders into the infamous suicide forest. As he experiences flashbacks to his troubled marriage to an artist (Naomi Watts), the professor meets a mysterious man whose friendship may be Brennan’s saving grace.
It remains to be seen how much (if at all) this final version differs from the film that premiered at Cannes, but If A24 can work some of its magic and make Sea of Trees half as brilliant as any of its recent releases, then we may be looking at one of the most improbable and impressive artistic turnarounds in Hollywood history.
Watch the trailer below, and see the film in theaters on August 26, 2016.
