The Merchants of Joy

2025

Action / Animation / Documentary / Family

4
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 80%
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 338 338

new york city holiday christmas christmastime

Director

Celia Aniskovich Photo
Celia Aniskovich

Top cast

Gregory Walsh Photo
Gregory Walsh as Self - Greg's Trees
Greg Walsh Photo
Greg Walsh as Self - Greg's Trees
George Smith Photo
George Smith as Self - NYC Tree Shop
George Nash Photo
George Nash as Self - Uptown Christmas Trees
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 2160p.WEB.x265
829.26 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  ar  cz  dk  de  gr  es  fi  fr  il  in  hu  id  it  ja  kr  ms  no  nl  pl  pt  ro  sv  th  tr  cn  
23.976 fps
1 hr 29 min
Seeds 6
1.66 GB
1920*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  ar  cz  dk  de  gr  es  fi  fr  il  in  hu  id  it  ja  kr  ms  no  nl  pl  pt  ro  sv  th  tr  cn  
23.976 fps
1 hr 29 min
Seeds 18
4.01 GB
3840*2160
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  ar  cz  dk  de  gr  es  fi  fr  il  in  hu  id  it  ja  kr  ms  no  nl  pl  pt  ro  sv  th  tr  cn  
23.976 fps
1 hr 29 min
Seeds 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by vicshib-42490 7 / 10

Business, life, Christmas

This was a well put together documentary. You follow the lives of three families who are invested in the Christmas tree business in New York. You hear their real stories about running the business, family involvement, competition and life's health challenges. The director weaves you in and out of stories of business to real life stories. You are drawn into their stories as you watch them running their businesses. A real nice story that almost had me in tears, and I'm not sure why.
Reviewed by brig13 4 / 10

I wouldn't buy dog food from these creeps

Must be a rule to be a mouth breather to sell Xmas trees in NYC. A story of 5 awful families selling and wasting trees, personal space and everyone's time. Christmas tree sales in NYC should be banned after watching these schysters. Are all the women in this related? Sure seems like it. Something in the water must make you mouth breath. Horrible people in an eye opening tale of the corrupt. NYC seems like hell on earth and this thankfully makes me want to continue to stay far away. White lady selling trees in Harlem... smh. Awful people selling awful lifestyles.
Reviewed by ferguson-6 7 / 10

One tree at a time

Greetings again from the darkness. The thing I love about documentaries is that so many tell stories that might otherwise not be told. Quite often, we don't even realize there is a story to be told, which is the case with this latest from Celia Aniskovich about selling Christmas trees. If you've ever strolled the streets of Manhattan in December, then you know there's no place like NYC at Christmas. Maneuvering through the mass of people becomes more challenging thanks to the street vendors lining the sidewalks selling Christmas trees. And there's the story.It turns out there are groups that own the tree stands. They are referred to as "the Five Families", and each has found their own path to the sidewalk. The film introduces us to the five groups ... well technically to four of them, as one (the largest), only appears via phone recordings instead of an on-camera interview. Each of these 'frenemies' recounts their own story: NYC Trees, Uptown Christmas Trees, the NY Tree Lady, and Greg's Trees.Aniskovich allows these stories to unfold in a naturalistic way (leading us to believe that quite a bit was edited out of the final version). Big Greg started his business at age 21, and now his son, Little Greg, has joined him. They also operate stands for roses and pumpkins in order to have business year-round. George (NYC Trees) was previously employed by Big Greg, and is quite a hustler in his own right - adding a carnival to his bag of tricks. Jane and George are from Vermont and have run Uptown Christmas Trees for 49 years. They are transitioning the business to their daughter Ciree, and have quite a colorful business motto! Heather is known as the NY Tree Lady, and despite a periodic show of nerves, she seems successful and quite charitable in her treatment of others.These folks and their stories are so interesting that we don't even feel a void with the refusal of big time Kevin Hammer (100 lots) to join in the documentary festivities. We hear about trade secrets and turf wars and mafia involvement, but mostly we hear from real people doing real work. It's a bit surprising to learn of the emotional stress, but they each seem aware that they are selling moments in time and Christmas spirit ... one tree at a time. Aniskovich was inspired by Owen Long's article "Secrets of the Christmas Tree Trade" (The Epic Magazine & New York Magazine), and leaves us with Jane's motto, 'Sell the %^&&*(# tree!Premieres at DOC NYC on November 14, 2025 and will stream on Prime Video beginning December 1, 2025.
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