Short film

A Wreath of Orange Blossoms

1911 · 18 min

A quiet, earnest melodrama that traces a marriage's strains with gentle moral seriousness and a tender, old-fashioned warmth.

Overview: The daughter of a poor seamstress takes a package to the house of her mother’s wealthy employer and meets the lady’s son. The son requests a date and eventually proposes marriage. His mother is horrified and disowns him. After the marriage they live in an elegant flat and she meets her husband’s social set at the parties that they host. Her husband becomes preoccupied with business worries, leaving her vulnerable to the attentions of a rake. After he is ruined, they are forced to move to cheaper quarters. Her husband goes out to look for work. The rake appears and proposes that she leave with him. As she is packing her bags, she finds the wreath of orange blossoms that her husband had brought to her on her wedding day, which they had stored away together after the marriage. She orders the rake out of the house and begins to clean up. Her husband, who has found a job meanwhile, comes home to a cooked supper.
How it feels: Melancholic, romantic, earnest and tense. Measured and needs your attention.
About: Class, love, betrayal, redemption
Content: Mild sexual content. No violence, gore or swearing.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown