THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE Exclusive Clip: Eugène Green's Dark Comedy Fantasy Premieres at Fantastic Fest Tonight!

Eugène Green's dark comedy fantasy, The Tree of Knowledge, is having its world premiere at Fantastic Fest tonight and we have an exclusive clip to share with you this morning. The clip has been provided to us by the project's international sales agency, MoreThan Films. 

In the clip we see our central character, Gaspard, comes across a small group of international tourists. Behind him strolls another pair of tourists - you know from where as soon as you see them (cough, 'Merica!) - and the man tells Gaspard he is in the way, when the couple themselves were clearly going to walk right in front of the tour leader as they are talking to their tour group. Again, once you see them, you know exactly where they came from (cough, 'Merica!). 

Gaspard, a teenager from the suburbs of Lisbon, falls into the hands of the Ogre, a man who has made a pact with the Devil. The Ogre uses the boy to attract tourists, whom he transforms into animals and then kills. Gaspard escapes with a donkey and a dog that he has grown fond of, and in an enchanted manor, he meets the spirit of Queen D. Maria I of Portugal. Meanwhile, enraged, the Ogre sets off in pursuit.

 

In biblical terms, the "Tree of Knowledge" symbolizes the beginning of free will and the ability to tell right from wrong. For filmmaker Eugène Green, THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE is also a metaphor for a spiritual awakening, a catalyst for internal renewal in the context of a widespread mass tourism boom in Europe.