Bitter Harvest (2001)

Or: How Harry Became a Tree

The above is the title of a fascinating Irish film, a dark comedy set in 1920s Ireland. The opening scene is of Harry Maloney (Colm Meaney) entranced by his upraised arms and hands. His voice opens the film in a dialogue with his son, Gus (Cillian Murphy).

Father: "I had the dream again."

Son: "What dream?"

Father: "About the tree."

Son: "What tree?" (pause) "Da?...What tree?...You turned into a tree."

Father: "And why wouldn't I?"

Son: "I can never remember my dreams."

Father: "And that wasn't the end of it."

Son: "What happened then?"

Father: "I dreamt I heard hammering in the yard. They cut me down, Gus. They made me into coffins."

Son: "Well, one of them big fellows wouldn't cut down easy."

Father: (Laughing) "By God they wouldn't!"

Son: "You could chop all day and never get anywhere."

Father: (suddenly angry and suspicious) "So you chopped me down, is that it?"

Son: "No. No."

Father: "You can put a stop to that thought right now. You stay here and I'll go check on the cabbages. That way one of us is doing something to make sure we don't both starve to death!"

Link to a trailer from IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0256084/trailers-screenplay-E23689-10-2

Having not yet delved into Hillman or Freud very deeply at this point, I can already sense themes of dream/myth/underworld as well as the dream/myth and patricide link, perhaps as passage to the underworld. It's a good film and Harry Maloney does, in fact, get made into coffins. He is also a man who is a tree.

I feel like I could already write a critical analysis and I don't even know what I'm talking about...but I'm sure I've dreamed what I would talk about!