AceShowbiz -

Matthew McConaughey and director Gus Van Sant responded after their latest movie "Sea of Trees" got lukewarm response at the Cannes Film Festival. It's reportedly the first film to receive boos from audience at this year's French film festival.

"Anyone has any right to either boo or ovate," McConaughey said when asked about the negative feedback. Van Sant, meanwhile, commented, "I read a review this morning, and it was one of those reviews, it was very definitive, I was imagining everyone was the same person as the one writing the review, and I thought now I know where we stand."

"I remember there was always a story after Elephant screened," the helmer continued, referring to his 2003 film which received Palme d'Or at the Cannes. "There were fisticuffs, fighting over whether it was good or bad, actually punching. And that was at Cannes as well. Who knows, day by day, whether the screening was today or yesterday, whether it makes a difference, I'm not sure at the end of a particularly screening, I don't know."

In "Sea of Trees", McConaughey plays a man who travels to Japan to end his life after the death of his wife (Naomi Watts). There, he meets another depressed man (Ken Watanabe) who also wants to kill himself. The two lost souls then begin journey of self-discovery and survival.

Comparing the drama to his previous film, McConaughey said, " 'Interstellar' was an exploration 'out there.' This was an exploration 'in here.' In 'Interstellar' there was goal, to get there and get back home. This was more moment-to-moment. With this guy I kept saying to myself, 'I don't know what I'm doing' and then I realized, 'that's perfect for Arthur."

When asked what drew him to the story, Van Sant explained, "I was interested in the jigsaw puzzle of this story. You are kind of out of control because you are watching from the middle of the story, and you are thrown out of control, and it's slowly kind of bringing you into a sort of understanding of what's going on."