Not good for you, but wickedly pleasurable all the same.
The Dreamers (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:150
Fresh:91
Rotten:59
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Though lushly atmospheric, The Dreamers doesn't engage or provoke as much as it should.
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Feb 6, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $2,299,636
Synopsis: Left alone in Paris whilst their parents are on holiday, Isabelle (Eva Green) and her brother Theo (Louis Garrel) invite Matthew (Michael Pitt), a young American student, to stay at their... Left alone in Paris whilst their parents are on holiday, Isabelle (Eva Green) and her brother Theo (Louis Garrel) invite Matthew (Michael Pitt), a young American student, to stay at their apartment. Here they make their own rules as they experiment with their emotions and sexuality while playing a series of increasingly demanding mind games. Set against the turbulent political backdrop of France in the spring of 1968 when the voice of youth was reverberating around Europe, THE DREAMERS is a story of self-discovery as the three students test each other to see just how far they will go. THE DREAMERS was helmed by Bernardo Bertolucci, whose THE LAST EMPEROR swept the 1987 Academy Awards garnering nine Oscars© including Best Director and Best Picture. It marks his third film shot in Paris, following THE CONFORMIST and the Oscar-nominated LAST TANGO IN PARIS. The screenplay, adapted for the screen from his original novel, is by English author and film critic Gilbert Adair. THE DREAMERS was produced by Jeremy Thomas (BROTHER, SEXY BEAST) who teamed with Bertolucci on THE LAST EMPEROR, THE SHELTERING SKY and LITTLE BUDDHA. THE DREAMERS strikes a personal chord for both Bertolucci and Adair, for although their paths never crossed, they were both living in Paris at the end of the 60s, experiencing the events against which the film is set. Their love of cinema took them to the birthplace of the Nouvelle Vague (New Wave), immersing them in a strong international cinema culture. "There was something magic in the 60s," Bertolucci recalls, "in that we were … well, let's use the word ‘dreaming'. We were fusing cinema, politics, music, jazz, rock ‘n roll, sex, philosophy." The film stars Michael Pitt, recently seen in the award-winning HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, (and with Sandra Bullock in MURDER BY NUMBERS), Eva Green in her feature film debut, and Louis Garrel, who previously appeared in Yolande Zauberman's LA GUERRE A PARIS. -- © Fox Searchlight [More]
Starring: Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Anna Chancellor
Starring: Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Anna Chancellor, Robin Renucci
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Screenwriter: Gilbert Adair
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
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Reviews for The Dreamers
For all its multi-layered sexuality, the film's bottom line is all about the destruction of the characters' dreams when those dreams are touched by reality.
The Dreamers is about three people dropping out of the world for a while, even as they imagine themselves an integral part of it.
The Dreamers is infused with the same kind of wistful melancholy that made the French New Wave films so winning, and it’s all gorgeous to look at.
The erotic parlor games in Bertolucci's film don't get quite get debauched or deep enough, and once they've run their course, the movie doesn't know what to do.
Up until its final moments, 'The Dreamers' is all too aptly titled. ...two hours of lusciously photographed lollygagging...
It's been described as a love letter to cinema and the heady 1960s, but it plays more like a memoir of infatuation.
Bertolucci and cinematographer Fabio Cianchetti construct every shot carefully, often building shapes out of the characters' positions or referencing shots from other films.
Swept away by the intensity of the characters' movie debates and sexual games, Bertolucci often recaptures the film-besotted spirit of the period.
'The Dreamers' comes wrapped in a strange nostalgia, which makes the pretentiousness even sadder.
The most logical explanation of the bizarre premise: Bertolucci, an inarguably brilliant Oscar-winning filmmaker, is also quite the perv.
Focus exclusively on the movie's brazen, occasionally gratuitous sexuality and you'll miss a whole other level of pleasure.
Bertolucci never lets his obvious pretensions overshadow the characters and the story at the heart of the film.
It so desperately wishes to be a masterpiece that the result is hopelessly infatuated with its own perceived cleverness.
Bertolucci's best work to date. Film, politics, sex, the cultural divide, love, relationships, parenting - are looked over by his camera, and the result is breathtaking.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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