Thursday, April 01, 2004
The Dreamers
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
I’m wary of writing a film review about The Dreamers considering I’m too young to have known anything first-hand about the tumultuous 60’s; not seen last Tango in Paris which is considered the predecessor of this art erotica from the same director; not forgetting its thematic, stylistic and metaphorical symbolisms are multi-textual and levelly diverse that it is difficult to read it on a much deeper level than what it might appear to be.
Set in 60s Paris and revolving around an american student, Matthew (Michael Pitt), a Leonardo Di Caprio look alike who loves and visits the cinema frequently, he befriends a long haired pretty blonde, Isabelle (Eva Green) and her equally good looking, foxy looking Siamese twin brother, Theo (Louis Garrel), during a demonstration to protest against the government’s ouster of Henri Langlois, the legendary founder of the Cinematheque Francais.
After a invitation to their family dinner; Matthew moves in when the siblings’ parents went for a country vacation. The stranger will discover an implied incestuous relationship as he becomes involved with them who is entranced with their behind the doors bourgeois counterrevolutionary lifestyle and ideals.
Most online reviews of The Dreamers tend to focus on two aspects – fictional VS historical truth within the social context and its visual erotica metaphors.
In terms of historical truths, reviewers explain the “truth” of the story against a fiery innovatory social background; comparing the obsession of the trio whilst external circumstances elude them. Fictional truth is explored with regards to the plot which contains the director’s autobiographical input that is based on a novel.
The visual erotica metaphors are abundant; not only through the naked bodies; but also the filming of them through objects such as mirrors and suggestive acts.
The Dreamers is a confluence of styles and “cut and paste” – a film for cinephiles with a fond nostalgia for the revolutionary 60’s; especially with French New Wave; French realism and early Hollywood Cinema.
Bernardo Bertuluocci proved his love of these cinema by intercutting scenes from Godard’s Breathless, and Band of Outsiders; Tod Browning’s The Freaks; Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson’s Scarface; Joseph von Sternberg’s Blonde Venus; Robert Bresson's Mouchette; Samuel Fuller's Shock Corridor; just to name a few.
These clips are placed within the context of “play- acting” and as such creates a subtle intra-diegetic device within the film. In most instances, the three protagonist were all acting these scenes against the black and white. These interpolations do not merely satisfy the whims and pleasure of the director or for cinephiles to spot them; but shakes viewer complacency into understanding that they are watching a movie.
Isabelle’s insistence that it was the FIIRST line, “New York Herald Tribune” that created her implied that Breathless is in the director’s opinion, the first successful French New Wave. It was also Godard’s first full length debut which drew international attention to the movement. Some film historians would however regard Truffaut’s 400 blows as the birth of FNW.
There are more instances where Bertuluocci repeatedly uses other filmic devices to achieve the same jutting effect as the film progresses within a more or less conventional plot structure.
For example, the after- dinner scene where Isabella edged forwards Matthew; and the camera purportedly slows down to capture the first screen kiss. In another occasion at the later part of the movie, Bertuluocci purposely films only the feet of Matthew and Isabella when they returned home from their date.
And these are the only few I have listed; of which there are many more, that other cinephiles would try to discover; perhaps through repeated viewings, cross viewing other movies or reading other reviews/ newsgroup postings.
There is a Godardian trace in Bertuluocci (besides the recontextualization of older film clips and styles to give the current one a new meaning) in which he uses his actors to improvise.
Bertuluocci does not motivate his actors the same way that Godard does. The latter’s actors always feels more “real” (as in not acting and aimless in their actions). Bertuluocci’s actors however gave the impression of being more “constrained”. Yet, both film directors choose to have their actors do similar things – playing out movie roles, philosophizing or reading.
The dinner scene where Matthew tries to impress the patriach with his theory of how things seems to fit despite randomness is as equally as thought-provoking as the time when Matthew and Theo argued about Buster and Chaplin; and the bathroom tirades of Clapton VS Hendrix. There is a pardaox in the clash of values in The Dreamers as Theo and Matthew argues about Maoism, music and movies.
Not much is mentioned about the soundtrack of dreamers which is basically a mix of early French crooners and American 60’s blues rock the likes of Clapton and the Doors. Like Godard, Bertuluocci’s music are again filmic devices. In one instance, we have the three of them listening to Janis Joplin (and which Theo threatened to destroy if she plays it again) though in many cases, they were just music that seems to contradict the visuals – heavy blues in a archaic house or French crooning when the police attacks (the ending scene).
There are so many symbolisms and effects in The Dreamers that could be mentioned but I leave it to the true buffs to spot it for themselves. I would be seeing it again, just for the sheer perversity.
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
I’m wary of writing a film review about The Dreamers considering I’m too young to have known anything first-hand about the tumultuous 60’s; not seen last Tango in Paris which is considered the predecessor of this art erotica from the same director; not forgetting its thematic, stylistic and metaphorical symbolisms are multi-textual and levelly diverse that it is difficult to read it on a much deeper level than what it might appear to be.
Set in 60s Paris and revolving around an american student, Matthew (Michael Pitt), a Leonardo Di Caprio look alike who loves and visits the cinema frequently, he befriends a long haired pretty blonde, Isabelle (Eva Green) and her equally good looking, foxy looking Siamese twin brother, Theo (Louis Garrel), during a demonstration to protest against the government’s ouster of Henri Langlois, the legendary founder of the Cinematheque Francais.
After a invitation to their family dinner; Matthew moves in when the siblings’ parents went for a country vacation. The stranger will discover an implied incestuous relationship as he becomes involved with them who is entranced with their behind the doors bourgeois counterrevolutionary lifestyle and ideals.
Most online reviews of The Dreamers tend to focus on two aspects – fictional VS historical truth within the social context and its visual erotica metaphors.
In terms of historical truths, reviewers explain the “truth” of the story against a fiery innovatory social background; comparing the obsession of the trio whilst external circumstances elude them. Fictional truth is explored with regards to the plot which contains the director’s autobiographical input that is based on a novel.
The visual erotica metaphors are abundant; not only through the naked bodies; but also the filming of them through objects such as mirrors and suggestive acts.
The Dreamers is a confluence of styles and “cut and paste” – a film for cinephiles with a fond nostalgia for the revolutionary 60’s; especially with French New Wave; French realism and early Hollywood Cinema.
Bernardo Bertuluocci proved his love of these cinema by intercutting scenes from Godard’s Breathless, and Band of Outsiders; Tod Browning’s The Freaks; Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson’s Scarface; Joseph von Sternberg’s Blonde Venus; Robert Bresson's Mouchette; Samuel Fuller's Shock Corridor; just to name a few.
These clips are placed within the context of “play- acting” and as such creates a subtle intra-diegetic device within the film. In most instances, the three protagonist were all acting these scenes against the black and white. These interpolations do not merely satisfy the whims and pleasure of the director or for cinephiles to spot them; but shakes viewer complacency into understanding that they are watching a movie.
Isabelle’s insistence that it was the FIIRST line, “New York Herald Tribune” that created her implied that Breathless is in the director’s opinion, the first successful French New Wave. It was also Godard’s first full length debut which drew international attention to the movement. Some film historians would however regard Truffaut’s 400 blows as the birth of FNW.
There are more instances where Bertuluocci repeatedly uses other filmic devices to achieve the same jutting effect as the film progresses within a more or less conventional plot structure.
For example, the after- dinner scene where Isabella edged forwards Matthew; and the camera purportedly slows down to capture the first screen kiss. In another occasion at the later part of the movie, Bertuluocci purposely films only the feet of Matthew and Isabella when they returned home from their date.
And these are the only few I have listed; of which there are many more, that other cinephiles would try to discover; perhaps through repeated viewings, cross viewing other movies or reading other reviews/ newsgroup postings.
There is a Godardian trace in Bertuluocci (besides the recontextualization of older film clips and styles to give the current one a new meaning) in which he uses his actors to improvise.
Bertuluocci does not motivate his actors the same way that Godard does. The latter’s actors always feels more “real” (as in not acting and aimless in their actions). Bertuluocci’s actors however gave the impression of being more “constrained”. Yet, both film directors choose to have their actors do similar things – playing out movie roles, philosophizing or reading.
The dinner scene where Matthew tries to impress the patriach with his theory of how things seems to fit despite randomness is as equally as thought-provoking as the time when Matthew and Theo argued about Buster and Chaplin; and the bathroom tirades of Clapton VS Hendrix. There is a pardaox in the clash of values in The Dreamers as Theo and Matthew argues about Maoism, music and movies.
Not much is mentioned about the soundtrack of dreamers which is basically a mix of early French crooners and American 60’s blues rock the likes of Clapton and the Doors. Like Godard, Bertuluocci’s music are again filmic devices. In one instance, we have the three of them listening to Janis Joplin (and which Theo threatened to destroy if she plays it again) though in many cases, they were just music that seems to contradict the visuals – heavy blues in a archaic house or French crooning when the police attacks (the ending scene).
There are so many symbolisms and effects in The Dreamers that could be mentioned but I leave it to the true buffs to spot it for themselves. I would be seeing it again, just for the sheer perversity.
