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In a Dream (2009)
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Reviews Counted:24
Fresh:19
Rotten:5
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: This tender tribute to an obscure artist's work is both compelling and visually striking.
Theatrical Release:Apr 10, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: In the vibrant, bohemian neighborhood of South Philadelphia, 50,000-square feet of concrete are covered with tile and mirrors—mosaics that were created by Isaiah Zagar, an eccentric, tormented... [More]
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Reviews for In a Dream
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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 4.5/5 |
The film's elements hum into a glorious experience, with its narrative as captivating as its visualization. Full Review |
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A grand gesture, an exercise in epic biography that explodes the intimate details of Isaiah's life and its effects on his family onto the screen. Full Review |
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3/4 |
The sheer visual impact of In a Dream is breathtaking. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Call it forgiveness or codependency, but this highly personal film speaks to all of us in the universal languages of art and love. Full Review |
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4/5 |
an artistic celebration of sorts -- with the emotional pain that can come with dedication, and maybe a little madness. Full Review |
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4/5 |
The images and emotions of 'In A Dream' will stick with you. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Because Jeremiah lacks the investigatory zeal to pursue the subplots, which also include his father's madness and his older brother's drug addiction, this lovely film is more evocative than illuminating. Full Review |
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3/4 |
When it works, it's well. When it doesn't, it seems unfocused and nearly loses our interest. Full Review |
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 2.5/5 |
The eclectic beauty of Isaiah's complex, labor-intensive art form deserves more process-oriented dissection. Full Review |
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2/4 |
Isaiah's work frequently rewards the camera's roving attention, but his self-absorption and lack of self-insight make him a sad subject even for as forgiving a study as In a Dream. Full Review |
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9.25/10 |
A captivating, honest and thoroughly engrossing documentary with plenty of wisdom, panache and stunning visuals. Full Review |
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1/4 |
The tedious documentary In a Dream tells you much more than you could ever want to know about an ob scure Philadelphia artist called Isaiah Zagar. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Even in an era of 24-hour confessional TV, this look into complex emotions is gripping. Full Review |
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4/5 |
Bursting with vivid home movies and loving appreciations of Isaiah’s artwork -- frenzied drawings and monumental mosaics in tile and mirror, many of which now beautify his Philadelphia neighborhood -- In a Dream abounds in visual pleasure. Full Review |
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Almost too ready-made for a movie, this documentation of the lives of a troubled artist, his doting wife and his two grown sons should be dramatic and compelling, but comes across like a mockumentary of cinematic self-discovery. Full Review |
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3/5 |
An unusual and compelling documentary portrait of an artist of dazzling and colorful murals. Full Review |
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B- |
What’s onscreen is vivid and compelling, but the film only seems to tell part of the story. Full Review |
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Where most documentarians would rest on the laurels of a great subject and riveting present-tense drama, director Jeremiah Zagar has observed too much of his father's creative logic to cheat us with artless hagiography. Full Review |
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3/6 |
The movie feels as if its creator is simply too close to his subject to cover all the angles; perhaps a director without blood bonds might have managed a less claustrophobic look at the clan. Full Review |
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An involving, sometimes painfully intimate piece that's as much about living with mental illness as it is about a rather remarkable artistic vision. Full Review |
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