A very aristocratic modesty is at the heart of this Oak which extends its branches on the screens Wednesday, February 23. A majestic tree occupies the bank of a pond in Sologne, with a whole small world around it, which it shelters, feeds, warms. Wildlife director Laurent Charbonnier (Animals in love), himself a resident of Sologne, brings all his art of the lookout and image to an enchanting film.
A 210-year-old oak thrones at the water’s edge with inhabitants such as squirrels, balanins, jays, ants, field mice… From its roots to its top, over the seasons, a whole world lives, survives and evolves in a nature far from the turbulence of the cities, to the rhythm of the seasons.
If the ecosystem of the oak may seem less spectacular than that of the large African fauna, it is quite the opposite that this film shows. It restores their nobility to these modest representatives of the fauna of our countryside. Jérôme Seydoux and Laurent Charbonnier script and film their cast by personalizing the animals, without falling into anthropomorphism.
Small rodents, insects and birds, but also the mycorrhizal network that gives mushrooms, are the stars of this beautiful film with rare images on a neglected subject. We sometimes wonder how such scenes could have been shot, as close as possible to these wild and fearful animals. Like the magnificent tracking shot on a raptor pursuing its prey under the forest.
Michel Seydoux and Laurent Charbonnier capture the daily life of a discreet nature. A communion where everyone occupies their place in a harmony subject to the laws of the climate. A summer storm is followed by the reds and golds of autumn, then immaculate snow, and the return of greenery. So many stages that punctuate an invisible, astonishing and spectacular life, revealed by an exploratory and poetic camera.
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Kind : Wildlife documentary
Director: Michael Seydoux and Laurent Charbonnier
Duration : 1h20
Country : France
Exit : February 23, 2022
Distributer : Gaumont Distribution
Summary: Once upon a time there was the story of a 210-year-old oak tree that became a pillar in his kingdom. This spectacular adventure film brings together an extraordinary cast: squirrels, balanins, jays, ants, field mice…. All this vibrant, humming and marvelous little world seals its destiny around this majestic tree which welcomes them, nourishes them, protects them from its roots to its top. A poetic ode to life where nature is the only one to express itself.