In the film "The man who planted trees" I was quite captivated by the feel of it. The feel of the unchanging life of the man caught my attention. It was as if the world could not really touch him. A war came and went, people came and went, and he simply remained living his life as always. There was also a sense of purpose to him that was not overbearing to those around him or obnoxious in any way. It was simply something that he was driven to do and did it without any desire for attention or recognition. What also caught my attention was his silence. The fact that he saw such little use for words, which is completely opposite to the society I find myself surrounded in, is a very attractive image to me. It involves values that are so contrary to what I always encounter: not always feeling the need to beat your point into someone else's disagreeing mind, not feeling the need to desperately explain to other's how you want them to think of you, allowing others to form true or faulty opinions of you and being completely apathetic about it, seeing no problem with solitude, focusing ones energy on one project in a leisurely manner. More and more I see clearly the mold of the culture I live in and realize that I have a hard time fitting into it, and that I really have no desire to fit into it.

The style of drawing in the film worked well for the tone of the piece. If it had been more of a Disney style, or cartoony style, it simply would not have had the same effect. Its slightly rough, realistic, flowing feel worked well for me. I can only imagine how much time and energy must have gone into that film. In some ways, the film itself shows some characteristics of the life that the man in the film lived. It had to be slowgoing, focused on a single goal, extremely patient, and the end result was a thing of beauty that could be appreciated by others. I hope that I will have the opportunity and the ability to create such a thing.