The Dreamers (2003)

18 0 0

by sicklylol

by sicklylol

★★★★½ Exceptional / Well-Crafted Work of Art / Enriching and Transformative

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Genre: Drama/Romance

Language(s): French, English, Italian

Trailer: Linked

Google Synopsis: "In May 1968, the student riots in Paris only exacerbate the isolation felt by three youths: an American exchange student named Matthew (Michael Pitt) and twins Théo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (Eva Green). Having bonded over their mutual love of cinema, Matthew is fascinated by the sense of intimacy shared by Isabelle and Theo, who were born conjoined. When the twins' bohemian parents go away for a month, they ask Matthew to stay at their place, and the three lose themselves in fantasy."

*SPOILERS*

I don't find it the least bit surprising that my favorite movie has only a 61% given by Rotten Tomatoes who also has claimed "Though lushly atmospheric, The Dreamers doesn't engage or provoke as much as it should."

When I first watched this movie, I went to sleep that night with heartbreak and confusion. Days went by and I couldn't shake the thought of this film. It was so sophisticated and breath taking, unlike anything I have ever seen in media or on television.

The taboo and intense relationship Eva has with her brother, creates a friction in what would otherwise be a normal summer of falling in love. Each character was intoxicating and left me starstruck, something about the way that they speak and feel. It was translated perfectly through the screen.

Being left in the dark about Isabel's virginity, like Matt was, really brought me into the story along with them. I was witnessing an uber personal experience, watching The Dreamers made me feel like I was a peeping Tom.

The time period is a whole other piece of artwork skillfully crafted with amazing dialog and the interesting use of old films. The director brought the main characters together using the theater and he created a feeling that the world stopped by coursing them through the summer without much change. We see and feel that they are stuck in this perpetual state of being. The audience is drenched in this unconventional way of life and through sly titillation we grow more uncomfortable and yet we cannot take our eyes away from the screen.

I was swept away by the intensity of the characters', movie debates and sexual games, Bertolucci often recaptures the film-besotted spirit of the period. We see through the riots and rally's and talk of politics what time the film is based it, yet somehow Bertolucci gives us something more.

I loved the way that the twins interacted creating this interstellar universe for the three of them to wallow in forever but the milk goes sour as time progresses and too much of a good thing can be toxic.

Matt told them, they would never grow if they continued to live so unconventionally, keeping the secret from their parents. A few scenes later, Isabel tells Matt that she would kill herself if her parents ever found out about the three of them.

He's horrified but when her parents return home early she keeps her word and attempts to kill the three of them in their sleep. We know this is dramatic but throughout the story Isabel is portrayed as an erratic and vibrant individual so we don't take her immaturity seriously.

As all good things come to an end, the twins who proclaimed to be conjoined, died together in a deadly street riot. Of course the final scene ends before we see any of this manifest but we're given enough to conclude.

Throughout the movie, Matt, the foreigner, who argued for patriotism and fighting for what you believe in, opposed to Theo and Isabel who are both pacifists, retreated back to safety. I find it hard to come to terms with what the twins did, after the failed suicide attempt but I think that is what makes it so memorable. They went against what they believe in because they knew the charade was up.