The Albino's Trees
In the secluded mountains of Japan, a young animal control hunter faces a moral struggle when tasked with killing a rare white deer, revered as a god by a nearby village of outsiders. Accompanied by Eiko Ishibashi’s minimalistic score, Masakazu Kaneko’s meditative film explores the clash between modernity and tradition, the relationship between humans and nature, and the righteousness of imposing one’s will on others. We live in a civilized society, but at what expense?
( 86 min. )
English and Spanish subtitles available / Subtítulos en inglés y español
Available Worldwide excluding Japan and Spain
▷About the Filmmaker - Learn more about the director Masakazu Kaneko
▷Send Message to the Filmmaker - Share your thoughts of the film!
Director
Music
Language
Japanese with English or Spanish subtitles
Subtitles
Español, English
Director's Note
Being human inevitably implies the killing of other living things. Yet, we often lack a real sense of what killing means, and our awareness of it is usually limited to numbers on paper. Indeed, especially for those like me who have grown up in a metropolis, there’s a tendency to overlook the fact that our everyday life entails the sacrifice of other lives. Too often, we are driven by egoism in trying to protect ourselves and those close to us at the expense of others. In this film, by focusing on the struggle of a man over the life and death of an animal, I tried to express not only the constantly problematic relationship between humans and nature but also the importance of thinking about others.

Bonus Content
DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY [Exclusively available with rental/purchase]
13mThe director Masakazu Kaneko talks about behind-the-scene episodes, and shares his message in the final scene which he drew inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s DREAMS.