Movie Review - The Family Tree (2020)

The film opens with a scroll of words that describes a holiday tradition in Panama. It's a Christmas tradition of burning a muñeco or doll. The effigy is akin to a scarecrow, but it can also be made like a piñata. Yet, it has to be life-size to a human. To make it even more of a spectacle, sometimes the doll is stuffed with firecrackers. People also wear special colors that symbolize certain things. People can wear the color red in order to denote love and romance. Writer-director Jorge Ameer who is a filmmaker from Panama bathes the opening of this film in the color red. However, with the music and framing of some of the shots, the color red could also have a very haunting feeling, almost as if this is the beginning to a horror film. Red is the color of blood. Yet, the opening scroll suggests or implies that something magical is afoot. It's only a matter of deciding whether this film will be a modern version of A Christmas Carol (1843) or It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

It's strange because this "burning man" tradition in Panama is shown at the beginning of Ameer's film. Yet, it's never mentioned or really referenced again throughout the whole story. As a result, whatever meaning or symbolism of the Panamanian tradition gets lost. The man who burns the muñeco never acknowledges or talks about it after the opening sequence.

Keith Roenke starred in one of Ameer's previous features, D'Agostino (2013). Here, Roenke stars as Victor Gardel, a man who works at an animal rescue shelter in Panama City. He seems like he might be a veterinarian, but he mostly takes care of cats and dogs at this facility. He's the one who makes the muñeco out of newspaper for the Christmas holiday and then burns it. It's something he does by himself, not with any friends or family. He then never acknowledges or talks about it ever again in this film. Yes, it's a tradition in Panama that people in that country will recognize, but, for those who aren't Panamanian some more clarification in this film would have been helpful. Victor though lives by himself in a nice, high-rise apartment. He likes to ride his bicycle and he may suffer from depression, which might explain his disposition at times.

One night leading up to Christmas, he finds a man on the ground who has been attacked. Instead of calling an ambulance or taking the man to the hospital, Victor brings the man back to his home and puts the unconscious man in his bed where he rests for two days. The fact that the man was asleep for that long suggests a serious head injury. Yet, that doesn't prompt Victor to take the man to the emergency room but to his bedroom where the man sleeps. It's suggested the man was asleep for two days, practically comatose.

Michael Joseph Nelson co-stars as Roy Bacchus, the aforementioned, comatose man whom Victor finds. He's a tall, handsome, Italian-heritage guy. Roy says he used to work as an in-person telegram. He went to people's houses or apartments and delivered birthday or holiday messages on behalf of others. Yet, he says he lost that job. He also says he's been evicted, so he's homeless. To make matters worse, Roy traveled to Panama from England, but his visa expired, so he's technically an undocumented immigrant. He's scared he could get deported.

Going further into the plot of this film would constitute a spoiler. Needless to say, the rest of the film is about Victor helping Roy not get deported and stay in Panama to have a happy life. It involves Victor asking Roy to do something. Later, it involves Roy asking Victor to do something. Without spoiling what that "something" is, it's something that tests the bounds of love, friendship, family and even sexuality. The film also tests the idea that "no good deed goes unpunished," as Victor's altruism to help Roy mostly leads to pain. Roy's relationship with Victor in turn also seems transactional and not unconditional, as any intimate notions from Victor feel mostly one-sided. Perhaps, this is a story about unrequited romance and the tragedy of a gay man falling in love with a straight man.

However, the way that this film is set up, or even the way it ends, it doesn't feel like it was meant to be a cautionary tale. What we're meant to takeaway is that of a true love story. What I see though is less a true love story and just opportunism masquerading as love, but mainly because I don't think the inner world and even wider social circle of these two men are fleshed out to my satisfaction. The characterizations feel incomplete to the point where things happen that seem exploitative that are then not more deeply explored.

The film does have an earnestness and honesty to it that is very refreshing. It's not propagated through tropes of people lying to each other or misunderstanding one another. Every body is clear and there never is any double-talk or confusions in that regard. Everything though is kept on the surface and while it's all clear, it doesn't go any deeper.

Not Rated but contains nudity and sexual situations.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 11 mins.

Playing at film festivals and coming to theaters.