This is a beautiful film shot in beautiful locations. Dialogue may seem dull and droll to the critics but it is pensive and just enough. It has you questioning what is the main character thinking initially but all flows together seemlessly through time. I love the occasional film that is as thoughtful and wonderfully produced and acted as this. I highly recommend The Sea of Trees.

Arthur Brennan (Matthew McConaughey) has had it tough and is has decided to do himself in as a privileged person by traveling to Japan's suicide forest. He chooses the cowards way out by taking pills. He has about 30 pills to take and it takes him half a bottle of water to swallow just 2 pills and has only one bottle. I'll let you do the math there. BTW the guy teaches physics. While attempting to get that third pill down he encounters a man (Ken Watanabe) who is more messed up than he is. Rather than continue with his plan, Arthur, our skeptic, helps the man. Arthur has flashbacks to his antagonistic relationship with his wife and we know how this formula film ends, even with that oh so clever twist done a gazillon times before.Might be a good bitter-sweet film for people who see something spiritual in every flower and cockroach on the planet and love those Lifetime dramas. Life really isn't that tough for the privileged folks in Seattle, except for those who decide to make it hard for themselves. My bad, I never developed any compassion for Arthur who never revealed himself as a likable guy until he decided to kill himself for feeling guilty for being a dirt bag. Nice scenery.No sex or nudity. Didn't catch any F-words.

(Flash Review)If you could choose a location to die, would you and where? How about forest at the base of Japan's Mount Fuji? This is a decision the protagonist, Arthur, makes. While finding the ideal spot to take his dose of pills, he encounters a Japanese man wandering around looking for the way out of the forest. Arthur tries to help the man and as they interact they share deep emotions about why they are both here….yet will they both decide to leave? Interspersed are flashbacks to Arthur with his wife with their tumultuous relationship and what leads him to this decision. A nicely shot film with well-told scenes about what truly matters in this world and to not give up on those things. A calmly told tale of sorrow, revitalization and joy arguably lacking authentic depth rather than clichéd moments.

A very distraught Arthur Brennan (Matthew McConaughey), is ready to end it all and purchases a one-way ticket to Tokyo. Arthur, hopelessly trying to deal with the memory of his love/hate relationship with his wife Joan (Naomi Watts), seeks out Japan's famed Aokigahara Forest, the "suicide forest". Brennan plans on taking his life with an overdose of sedatives, when his plan is disrupted by another lost soul wandering the winding trails. Takumi Nakamura (Ken Watanabe) has had a change of heart and is wanting to actually find the way out of the forest. So what began as a task of killing themselves instead will become something powerfully different.The story line is quite depressing; the scenery is a contrast of ugliness and beauty. The acting is heartfelt and believable. McConaughey is dynamic. Also appearing are: Katie Aselton, Bruce Norris, Anna Friedman and Ryoko Seta.