The Sea of Trees is a 2015 American drama mystery film directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Chris Sparling.

The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Ken Watanabe, Naomi Watts, Katie Aselton and Jordan Gavaris.

Principal photography began on July 28, 2014, in Foxborough, Massachusetts; the production moved to Japan in September of the same year.

[5] It received negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing mere $825,577 on a $25 million budget.

Arthur Brennan, an adjunct physics professor, travels to Aokigahara ("The Suicide Forest") with a sealed package.

Once there, he attempts to end his life via drug overdose but encounters a Japanese man named Takumi Nakamura.

Takumi entered the forest two days prior and slit his wrists because he was demoted at work, but soon realized he would miss his wife and daughter.

To keep their minds occupied, they share details about their lives, including the names of Takumi's wife and daughter: "Kiiro" and "Fuyu".

Through flashbacks, it is revealed that Arthur lived in a crumbling marriage alongside his wife Joan, a real estate agent.

He remembers Takumi describing the forest as a form of purgatory, where the spirits of your loved ones are closest during your darkest moments.

[7] Matthew McConaughey joined the cast in February 2014[6] with Naomi Watts joining in May of that year [1] The film's international distribution was sold to different companies at 2014 Cannes Film Festival, which includes Entertainment One to handle the rights for UK, Australia and New Zealand, and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions to handle for Eastern Europe, Pan-Latin America and Scandinavia.

The consensus states, "Dull, maudlin, and fundamentally empty, The Sea of Trees extinguishes the contributions of a talented cast and marks a depressing low point in director Gus Van Sant's career.

"[27] Critic Richard Mowe stated this audience reaction should "give the film’s creative team pause for reflection about exactly where they went so badly awry.

Nonetheless, he concludes that the film is, "Almost impressive in the way it shifts from dreary two-hander to so-so survival thriller to terminal-illness weepie to M. Night Shyamalan/Nicholas Sparks-level spiritual hokum, this risibly long-winded drama is perhaps above all a profound cultural insult, milking the lush green scenery of Japan's famous Aokigahara forest for all it's worth, while giving co-lead Ken Watanabe little to do other than moan in agony, mutter cryptically, and generally try to act as though McConaughey's every word isn't boring him (pardon the expression) to death.

"[29] Further critical dissatisfaction with the film has been attributed to the fact that "the twists and turns of this narrative fail to ring true with too many implausibilities in the plotting to give any credibility"[28] and with its "complete lack of narrative momentum, it all adds up to a film that's easily Van Sant's worst, and is a sad black mark on McConaughey's mostly excellent recent run.