Variety’s review finds that Salvatore Mereu’s three-hour Sardinian fairy tale, “Wandering Trees”, has striking natural imagery and a sincere reverence for the land, but only intermittently achieves the magic it seeks. The critic argues that the film’s blend of fantastical storytelling and social realism creates a tonal mismatch, weakening its drama because key character motivations are insufficiently convincing.

The story centres on Piero Arca, a farmer devoted to caring for rescued animals with his young son Giuliano, whose closeness to nature makes them outsiders in their community. They face hostility, including gunfire, particularly from Sebastiano Nonne, whose household represents a more authoritarian and destructive relationship with animals and the land; the review sees this conflict as thematically clear but dramatically laboured.