The seductively charismatic duo of Green and Garrel, who make the siblings' twisted relationship warm yet disturbing, off-putting yet inviting.
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
The thrills of this movie are aesthetic ones, the creation of new, ravishing imagery (and all three of our young heroes are beautiful enough to be up to this task), the surrender to dream logic, the adoration of the silver screen.
Disenfranchised youth spells relentless bacchanalia, without the benefit of narrative structure or purpose.
Just the dose of relatable mainstream art the U.S. cinema desperately requires.
Like Stealing Beauty, a European-set tale of adolescent sexual awakening, loosely recast here as a heavily affected, awkward polemic.
Has an attractive facade, but its apparent audacity turns out to be as empty-headed as its photogenic but vacuous lead characters.
The rapture of movies themselves has never been more masterfully or evocatively presented. But the movie fails to integrate its themes in a satisfying way.
They aren't making revolution in this hothouse, they're making a listless blue movie.
Like few filmmakers, Bertolucci captures ... the sexual delirium of youth.
Bertolucci undercuts the smarmy quality of most coming-of-age films of this sort but giving weight to the sexuality, and by tying it in with the politics of that period.
Who else but Sartre-reading, Fellini-watching wannabe-sophisticated 15-year-olds will find this film intriguing?
A lazy film about lazy people that, predictably, would have lazed me into a coma if it weren't for the near non-stop nudity.
Encapsulates the sense of innocence and adventure we all wish to carry
The Dreamers didn't put me to sleep, but I did start wishing they'd reenact a better movie.
The siblings, in particular, grow so irritating with their cultural tunnel-vision that even the film's explicit sex grows monotonous, and its lack of humor grows irritating.
Works best when viewed as a tone poem that examines the present through the prism of the past.
There's not a moment in the film's belabored 115-minute running time that feels emotionally authentic.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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