City of Trees

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.

I'd be lying if I said that before watching "City of Trees" I had been grouping it in with other corny lesbian Christmas movies. Not only did I love the movie, but it's writing, directing, and acting blew me away! Yes it's a low-budget, independent film, but not in a bad way, rather in a realistic way. It's a very relatable storyline for anyone who has moved away from their hometown after a less than stellar high school experience, only to return later in life and find that people grow-up, and maybe your worst enemies can actually become friends..or more. "City of Trees" is 100% worth the watch, as it is a well above-average, realistic LBGTQIA+ film that will leave you thinking "Wow, I didn't expect that!".

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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Loved the interaction and the buildup and that huge feeling that this story had despite a small cast. Great love development between two high school girls who would 'never' be part of the same world, until one returns home years later, which lines up with class reunion. Well done.

Finally we, rainbow people, get our own holiday love story on celluloid. Thank you Alexandra Swarens for writing and directing this gem. The movie has the right pace, the build up feels natural, and it is never rushed. The chemistry between the two characters is very genuine and flows perfectly. The intimate scenes are of great taste, although I wish their kisses would have been a bit more intense.. I thought to myself, "they are being careful with this... don't! no one is in real life!".. but still incredible chemistry. Another thing I was having a hard time with was the coffee cups.. it seemed to me they kept drinking the horrible coffee for a long time.. maybe the director missed that during editing, but I thought "the coffee, by now, has to be plain cold... and gone!" The narrative is very real and it is told in a very honest way. I love everything about this film.. and the soundtrack, oh boy!