Jakarta, IO – A young man wandered alone, towards an old region in the Alps. After several days of lonely travel, he ran out of water and tried to find a river to quench his thirst.
Unexpectedly, when he was starting to lose hope because he couldn’t find a water source, he saw a small figure standing on the horizon. When approached, the figure was a shepherd who was tending 30 sheep, who invited him into his old hut.
After spending the night resting, the young man decided to accompany the shepherd into the valley with dozens of his sheep. After being noticed, the shepherd had repeatedly planted tree seeds along the road on the barren hill.
“Is this land yours?” asked the young man.
“No,” answered the shepherd.
The young man was amazed, why he planted trees in no man’s land. He also asked various other questions. The shepherd answered, he didn’t care who owned this land, he still planted the tree seeds very carefully.
That was the beginning of the story presented by Stéphane Villière and his daughter in a performance of two Marionettes using French and Indonesian, which were told alternately at the Indonesian Francais Institute (IFI), Thamrin, Jakarta on Tuesday (20/3). Titled “The Man Who Planted Trees,” this fictional story created by Jean Gioni (1953) is successfully told in a simple way yet meaningful way.
The story continues, the shepherd named Elzeard Bouffier apparently had planted thousands of tree seeds for three years, since he lost his wife and children.
Five years passed, Villière said that the young man had to go to World War I and never saw Bouffier again. To get rid of his longing, he tries to return to the old cabin, which turns out to be surrounded by small oak trees, thanks to the acorns that Bouffier planted.
Slowly he walked up the road, countless trees grew on the previously barren land. A gust of cool, sweet-smelling wind seemed to invite him to dance among the trees.
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He was amazed, all this happened because of Bouffier’s simple actions every day. Years of self-isolation were not without results. Bouffier was able to create a new life in the midst of emptiness after the person he loved left behind and recover with the nature around him.
Aside from the marionette show, IFI is presenting other excitement to commemorate Francophonie Week 2024. Starting from cooking competitions, exhibitions, film screenings, workshops to musical performances, it will be held on March 18-23. For further information, please visit IFI’s official website. (bp)