MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
The Forest
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6:08
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/esl/the-forest-5580
Description

Antonia is a 12 year old girl. She often has daydreams, in which she wonders of in to a magical far away forest, were she hides from the problems of the real world. One day, however, her father takes drastic measures and she has to face a decision.

Is your inner peace an utopian state until you have finally escaped the grip of the society and its rules? Or is affirmation a faster way to your personal luck? And what are you supposed to do, if you have to answer this question at the age of 12?

In the Animated Short "The Forest", the protagonist has to cope with this question and her hostile environment and finds a simple but radical solution.

Transcript

In the old days, things were a lot gloomier than today. Me and my family used to live in an apartment block when I was about 12 years old. My father was an honest and strict man. He was obsessed with preparing us for the challenges of life. When I felt lonely or misunderstood, the forest was there for me.

It was a peaceful place, where the problems, so I thought, were far away. I often came to the forest. I didn't like school either. I thought of it more of a mind prison than a place to learn about life. I could sit here for ages, thinking about the world and just listening to the whisper of the wind and wisdom of the trees.

I didn't really feel at home amongst people either. People had no respect. The rich took advantage of the poor. The lies kept them locked away in their miserable lives. Everytime I walked the streets, I had the urgent desire to return to the forest. Because the forest was different, there were no problems.

One day I was expelled from school for daydreaming, they sent me to a special school, so I decided not to go back anymore. I didn't tell my father of course. Anyway he found out, and took me to a specialist. All of a sudden, everything changed.

I had ignored these problems for too long. Now they were here to seize me. My will to stand up against life had gone. I suddenly became interested in things I had been indifferent to before.  Lies, carrier bags, noise.

-- Regain your individuality now! Try Probijogh!
-- Regain your individuality now!

And that was what I was going to do!

Of course they caught me. I tried to explain why I had to do this. But they just wouldn't listen. They had locked me away for good.