Country: Spain / France
Genre: Drama
Year of Production: 2007
Format: 35mm
Running Time: 84 minutes
Certificate: PG
Theatrical Release date: 13th March 2009
DVD Release date: 22nd June 2009

A young man's return to Strasbourg, in search of the woman that he loved six years earlier sets the stage for the lyrical IN THE CITY OF SYLVIA.

The latest film by Jose Luis Guerin is an homage to cinema, painting, love and women that continues in much the same tradition as his 1997 feature Train of Shadows: The Spectre of Le Thuit, which was a tribute to the beginnings of film. Enraptured by Guerin's atmospheric attention to image and sound, you can almost smell the places he brings to life.

A nameless young man arrives in Strasbourg and spends his days sitting at an outdoor cafe, sketching the figures of the women around him, patiently waiting for his lost love Sylvia to appear. Sylvia's presence lingers, but it is impossible to return to the past...

Guerin is clearly interested in the artist and his interminable gaze on his subjects. We become the voyeurs, seeing everything through the eyes of the handsome young man. He highlights the beauty in the objects and people he observes: the way the hair falls on the back of someone's neck; the delicate smile of a person in deep thought; the way the light plays on the creases of a dress. Guerin's attention to sound is also one of the highlights of this mesmerising film. We hear the scribbling of the pencil on the page as the artist sketches, and the click-clack, click-clack of heels as a woman walks past him then out of the camera's (and our) vision.

Featuring standout performances from Xavier Lafitte and Pilar Lopez de Ayala, IN THE CITY OF SYLVIA imparts nostalgia for days when it was plausible to search for love, wander streets aimlessly and immerse oneself in a foreign place: the freedom to do as one pleases, and in this extraordinary film, which is rapidly becoming something of cult classic on the festival circuit, Guerin carefully crafts the pleasures of youth, art and love.

"a glorious explosion of sight, sound and feeling."
FILM OF THE WEEK, 5 STARS
TIME OUT

"This is perfection... utterly transfixing, and it cuts to the heart of what cinema is all about." 5 STARS
THE TIMES

"a slender, hugely fresh and endlessly intriguing fable... it's some kind of masterwork." 5 STARS
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

"outstanding, a superbly shot and hauntingly enigmatic drama of longing" 4 STARS
Peter Bradshaw, THE GUARDIAN

"a swooningly romantic tale of ideal love... a great film."
Philip French, THE OBSERVER

"utterly mesmerizing... a brilliantly directed, richly rewarding film that demands to be seen."
5 STARS
VIEW LONDON

"if you're looking for something that reinvents cinema, this is it."
PICK OF THE WEEK
THE GUARDIAN GUIDE

"a wistful charm"
DAILY TELEGRAPH

"A very polished visual experience"
THE DAILY EXPRESS

"distinctively styled"
THE INDEPENDENT (THE INFORMATION)

"compelling"
Wendy Ide, THE TIMES

"exceptionally atmospheric"
Derek Malcolm, EVENING STANDARD

"pick of the week."
METRO

"a delicate study of romantic yearning... beautiful"
THE LONDON PAPER

"a masterly treatise... ingenious" 4 STARS
EMPIRE

"lingers long after the credits have stopped rolling."
SIGHT & SOUND

"a brilliantly observed and poetic piece of cinema." 4 STARS
SONGLINES MAGAZINE

"If ever a movie deserved the designation art house, this is it." 4 STARS
THE MORNING STAR

"gorgeous"
SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

"hypnotic... fascinating"
THE SCOTSMAN

"enigmatic"
THE LIST

"Jose Luis Guerin's lovely, exceedingly graceful work eloquently captures the
feeling of being in love with love"
THE HERALD

"Mesmerising and intricately beautiful... In The City of Sylvia effortlessly draws you in and sweeps you along"
MAD DOG MAGAZINE

"A gorgeous speculation of love, art and the secret life of the city.
FILM FOUR

"hypnotic"
CULTURE CRITIC

"frequently hypnotic... a virtuoso feat of wordless, prismatic storytelling"
NEW YORK TIMES

"beautiful"
CHICAGO READER

"a finely tuned meditation on looking and longing... an airy, ultra-Gallic delight"
VARIETY

"utterly charming... a treat for romantics and people watchers."
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER