City of Trees

Ainsley (Alexandra Swarens) is visiting her hometown for Christmas, the first time in several years. Although she is happy to see her parents and her sister and her friend Teddy, she doesn't really feel comfortable in her old environment. To make matters worse, a reunion from her high school is coming up, but she hasn't even been invited to it. And finally, there's Sophie (Olivia Buckle), who she went to school with but never really became friends with and who now helps her mother out in the garden and is eager to get to know Ainsley. The two start to get closer - but Ainsley's complexes about her self-image and her past seem to stand impassably between them ...

Just looking at the home page of this website should make it clear that I am a fan of the works of director Alexandra Swarens. I love her latest film Spring dearly (the kiss picture is from that film). I had a few concerns about seeing City of Trees, which has been described by various people as much less ambitious and polished.

But my worries were unnecessary. Although City of Trees is even more minimalistic than Spring, it is worth seeing in every aspect and managed to captivate me with the same unexcited intensity. Not much actually happens in these almost 90 minutes, but what little does happen is characterized by authentic impact, by consistent atmospheres.

City of Trees is a slow and low-budget film. If you are looking for action (or stunning visuals), you are definitely in the wrong place. Whereas - there is action (and stunning parts), but it is a very subtle action that takes place under the surfaces. Many scenes invite you to imagine what thoughts and emotions are going on inside the characters right now. For that, however, you have to be willing to empathize and explore the inner conflicts that are not openly acted out.

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This is hands-down the best women-loving-women (wlw) film I've seen. The chemistry between the two leads is what wins the day. It is an honest story of two women falling for each other after years apart. It's so tenderly and beautifully acted by both women and the family scenes are great as well. There is no drama for the sake of it, the love scene is the first authentic wlw scene I've seen on screen, and the pace is perfect. You feel like you are falling in love along with them, and the awkward moments are as uncomfortable as if you were there.

Alexandra Swarens, who wrote, directed and stars in this as Ainsley, is clearly a very talented (and beautiful) woman who had a vision of a wlw love story and executed it to perfection. Olivia Buckle, who plays Sophie, is fabulous, and her growing love for Ainsley is portrayed with a touching sweetness. The only thing that bugged me were Sophie's nails. They didn't match with her being a tree conservationist, and I don't know any woman who would let those anywhere near her.

Other than that, perfect.

Low production values, so expectations to be managed. Pacing is slow but it fits the story being told. There is no 'big event' in the film. I've watched a lot of wlw films and, despite the budget, this felt very authentic and I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Perhaps one or two scenes felt a little wooden, but on the whole there was good acting and believable chemistry between the leads. A nice little festive film.

I really enjoyed this one, it's light, it's authentic and everyone did a great job. If you can look past some minor sound imperfections and let yourself dive into the world of someone who has not only been in her hometown for 7 years, but also wasn't invited to the high school reunion, and you just know this would be awkward but also maybe the time to realise people are not the same as they were in high school before. Really lovely characters and well written, which is no surprise coming from Alexandra Swarens. It's a thumbs up from me and looking forward to more stories.

I would have changed the ending but I'm not sure how. The director made this movie. It developed at exactly the right pace from beginning to end. I don't know who Alexandra Swarens is but she's good. The movie held my undivided attention from the beginning to end. Thank you Prime. You did well with this one. I hope the director has more movies to spring on us.