The Wishing Tree

I remember Abuladze's cult film Repentance from the mid-80s completely differently than how most film fans review it, and I consider those crowds of moviegoers who nodded approvingly as victims of mass hysteria. This is because Abuladze operates in the realm of heavy art, which can only be consumed by a small elite of film connoisseurs who can appreciate what is hopelessly hidden from us ordinary mortals. Occasionally, an acquaintance invites me to the theater to see an opera, but I politely decline because I don't want to find out from printed information what I actually watched. I fell asleep eight times during The Wishing Tree, and constantly rewinding the DVD exhausted me more than digging a trench. I give it 1 star for the camera work and exotic images, but beyond that, it is a festival film that is unusable for the average viewer. Overall impression: 25%. (05/19/2011)