L'arbre de Noël

Some movies just stick with you. You continue thinking of them, being reminded of them, for years to come.

'The Christmas Tree,' directed by Sally Field, starring Julie Harris, is one of those movies.

Why it has not been re-shown on TV since its 1996 debut, I do not understand. Why is it not available for sale or rent anywhere, I do not know.

Tree is about a young girl who is an orphan, living in a convent. Her special friend is a tree, to whom she takes all her joys and sorrows. During the course of the movie, her early history is revealed, as well as a glorious future for Tree.

Some might call it sentimental, but isn't that a lot of what Christmas is about? I haven't looked at a tree quite the same way since.

This was a charming TV movie. One I wish were available on VHS or DVD. It was a thoughtful and seasonally appropriate movie demonstrating the love one has for nature's gifts and learning to let go of those cherished gifts, to make way for something new. Think about giving up something as an adult, which you have cherished since childhood. I imagine it would be very difficult. That's one part of what this movie allows the viewer to be aware of. Of course there are other story lines about growth and love and giving. All very much a part of the meaning of Christmas. While an uncomplicated plot overall, the movie encourages the basics of the Christmas season and the basics one usually encounters in life. A simple story with several valuable lessons.

Sure, it's sentimental. Sure, it's schmaltzy. But isn't Christmas, when you get that warm glow from thinking about the holiday season--in a Norman Rockwell kind of setting--just as schmaltzy too? I read the beautifully illustrated book and thought it would make a wonderful present for my sister who lives in Maine. After this made-for-TV film came out, I contacted her to find out how she liked the film--which I thought was wonderful. She just found it empty, not saying much, a disappointment.

But I think it was a very slender story to begin with and Sally Field has directed it with an eye for warm details and, yes, sentiment. And JULIE HARRIS gives the kind of performance she's famous for--simple, earnest, truthful. The tree had become something so close to her that she was reluctant to see it torn down to serve as New York City's famous tree at Rockefeller Center.

Unfortunately, the story details escape me now, having seen it only once the night it made its debut in '96 and expecting that it would become a rerun the way IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE did. No way. All of the performances were fine and although many would find it a bit hokey to make such a fuss over a tree that ends up in Rockefeller Center, it was done in a way that had a magic sort of appeal. Beautifully photographed with lush vistas of New England landscapes, it had a certain charm that tried to capture the warmth of the book.

Summing up: By all means worth seeing, if you can. I have no idea why it has simply disappeared from sight.

This is a great tear-jerker. I cried and I cried and I cried. I am old-fashioned and sentimental and this filled the spot. Possibly a "woman's movie"? I would highly recommend this to people who are loving, thoughtful, and sensitive.

This is just one of those movies that words can't explain. All I have to say is that this has to be one of the best Xmas movies I have seen for a long time. The music is great the location is lovely. Watching the movie you can see a lot of Sally field comming out of the main actor. Watch this movie with a loved one next Christmas.