I imagine that once in a while , everyone needs reassurance in their efforts to have a positive effect in this world. Media highlights tragedy, employers overlook talent, and so many good people fall prey to incredible adversity. The qualities we recognize as poison to our ideal life regularly take over when we wish we would stay in control. Selfishness, doubt, anger, fear… it’s a cycle we understand all to well, and the same frustration is shared by our close friends and confidants. Somehow, the lowest parts of life can seem invincible against our best intentions and efforts to bring about progress. In the face of this constant wearing down, the vehicles of reassurance and encouragement—great stories of faith and persistence, can help set us back on course when we’ve begun to lose touch with our desire to try or care.
The Man Who Planted Trees is a short, 30 minute film based on the story by French author Jean Giono, published in 1953. If you can imagine a gentle breeze drifting down around the ears and pleasantly closing off the nagging voices of your long day and weeks, you will begin to understand the sensation which accompanies The Man Who Planted Trees.
Simply put, the story recounts the life of a shepherd who plants 100 acorns every day in the worst kind of desolate wasteland. He is alone, save for his dog and sheep. A nameless traveler, who narrates the film, discovers the old shepherd, already three years into his work, as he journeys across the wasteland. The shepherd shows him hospitality and goes about his daily task of planting along the paths of his sheep. The traveler is fascinated and perhaps more overwhelmed by the futility of the situation than his host. In his time, the shepherd shares, he has planted 100,000 seeds. Out of those 100,000, only 20,000 will even take root, and out of those 20,000, half of those will be destroyed by rodents and rough weather. The minimal return for so much work is disheartening, but the traveler is moved by the shepherd’s patience. He soon departs and continues on his way.
The events of history come and go, and the traveler revisits the wasteland as a more grown-up adult. The desert, he finds, is speckled with groves of sapling oaks, and the shepherd remains true to his mission of planting. Again the traveler leaves, a little astounded by the steadfast nature of his acquaintance and the undeniable progress of his work. Ten years pass, and the traveler makes another rare visit to the desert, which have transformed into forest covered mountains that draw deep water into rivers and entices animals into its shade. Over and over, the traveler comes and goes, each time entering a more rich and verdant country which has born out of the shepherd’s tireless mission. People move back into the land, transformed themselves by ambition and possibility of a fresh start- never to be aware of the old shepherd who gave them so much and had been passed away for some time.
For those of you in the area, The Man Who Planted Trees can be found on dvd at the Manchester City Library (YouTube also carries the entire film in three parts, which I have embedded below for ease of viewing). Story aside, its animation ripples and flows, and the lines of its characters and creatures move with a spirit you will afterward find lacking in even Disney’s most notable classics. I highly suggest it to any who set themselves to tasks of progress, and especially to those who require some nursing of a thinned patience and weary heart.
Pt. 1 The Man Who Planted Trees
Pt. 2 The Man Who Planted Trees
Pt. 3 The Man Who Planted Trees
If you know of another story, song or media that is a source of support in your life, I invite you to comment about it so that others can share from it as well!
P.S. Wikipedia was my source for minor fact-checking. Now check out the rest of my blog!
