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Matthew McConaughey contemplates suicide in the woods in trailer for Gus Van Sant film

The first trailer for famed director Gus Van Sant’s upcoming The Sea Of Trees hit screens everywhere this week, offering a look into the depressing life of a college professor whose marriage is disintegrating.

The upcoming film stars Matthew McConaughey as a professor who travels to Japan’s famed “Suicide Forest” to take his own life, only to decide to aid a lost Japanese man in the process.

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The beginning of the new teaser showcases flashbacks to the character’s poor relationship with his wife, played by Naomi Watts, who is revealed to have a very serious brain tumor. Her ultimate fate isn’t revealed in the clip.

The Sea of Trees will be the 17th film from Van Sant, whose previous hits include Milk, Finding Forrester, and Good Will Hunting. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, and given the all-star cast and the broody subject, the director likely has some hopes for hardware during this years’ awards season.

The film received harsh criticism when it debuted at Cannes last year, however, with some critics loudly booing it from the audience during a screening. In fact, the debut caused initial distributors R.S.

Serious, dramatic, and dark, it’s unlikely that the film will tear up the box office when it comes to ticket sales. But for fans of the director and the two stars attached, it should be worth a watch. The Sea Of Trees comes out on August 26. For more information, visit the film’s website.

Parker Hall
Former Senior Writer, Home Theater/Music
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
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