Man Who Planted Trees

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story that will inspire you forever.
Review: This is a beautifully animated short film for all ages, based on the short story by Jean Giono. It is a narrated tale about a quiet shepherd who takes it on himself to plant a vast forest in a deserted part of the French Alps. Throughout the course of his life he plants just a few seeds at a time until, over many decades, he transforms what was a barren wasteland into a veritable garden of eden. His progress is marked by a lost hiker (travelling through Provence trying to forget his war experiences) who meets the shepherd during the post WW1 years. The hiker returns to see him periodically for many years and is astounded by the transformations that take place in the years he is off living his own life - 'transformations' that the world at large sees as a startling natural phenomena, but that the narrator knows is due to the herculean efforts of one, quiet man.

I saw the animated film once many years ago, and I was so taken by the characters and the story itself that I searched for years to find the book or a recording of it in some form. Thankfully it is now available on DVD for a new generation to admire.
I would recommend this inspiring animation to anyone of any age. It would make a great gift to someone you really care about, because the recipient will never forget who it was that turned them on to "The Man Who Planted Trees."