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The Dreamlife of Angels

The Dreamlife of Angels

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stark, brutal and eminently watchable
Review: "Dreamlife of Angels" feels more like a documentary than a scripted movie. Élodie Bouchez and Natacha Régnier inhabit the characters of of Isa and Marie so completely that it hardly feels like acting. As the tension between the two women builds, you'll feel the urge to avert your eyes because it gets so uncomfortable between the two of them. But, you continue to watch because it's so compelling. Bocuhez and Régnier deserved that shared prize at Cannes.

Despite the fact that Dreamlife is propelled by these two ladies, there are two other standouts worth noting:

Patrick Mercado is wonderful as burly bouncer Charly who reveals himself as a tender touch with true feelings for Marie. He's fabulous.

Grégoire Colin is slickly cadish as Chriss, the object of Marie's increasingly worrisome obsession. Everyone in the film (and viewing audience) - save Marie herself - can see this guy is bad news. You know an actor is doing a good job when he can elicit that type of reaction.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stark, brutal and eminently watchable
Review: "Dreamlife of Angels" feels more like a documentary than a scripted movie. Élodie Bouchez and Natacha Régnier inhabit the characters of of Isa and Marie so completely that it hardly feels like acting. As the tension between the two women builds, you'll feel the urge to avert your eyes because it gets so uncomfortable between the two of them. But, you continue to watch because it's so compelling. Bocuhez and Régnier deserved that shared prize at Cannes.

Despite the fact that Dreamlife is propelled by these two ladies, there are two other standouts worth noting:

Patrick Mercado is wonderful as burly bouncer Charly who reveals himself as a tender touch with true feelings for Marie. He's fabulous.

Grégoire Colin is slickly cadish as Chriss, the object of Marie's increasingly worrisome obsession. Everyone in the film (and viewing audience) - save Marie herself - can see this guy is bad news. You know an actor is doing a good job when he can elicit that type of reaction.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stark, brutal and eminently watchable
Review: "Dreamlife of Angels" feels more like a documentary than a scripted movie. Élodie Bouchez and Natacha Régnier inhabit the characters of of Isa and Marie so completely that it hardly feels like acting. As the tension between the two women builds, you'll feel the urge to avert your eyes because it gets so uncomfortable between the two of them. But, you continue to watch because it's so compelling. Bocuhez and Régnier deserved that shared prize at Cannes.

Despite the fact that Dreamlife is propelled by these two ladies, there are two other standouts worth noting:

Patrick Mercado is wonderful as burly bouncer Charly who reveals himself as a tender touch with true feelings for Marie. He's fabulous.

Grégoire Colin is slickly cadish as Chriss, the object of Marie's increasingly worrisome obsession. Everyone in the film (and viewing audience) - save Marie herself - can see this guy is bad news. You know an actor is doing a good job when he can elicit that type of reaction.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Superior
Review: A beautiful piece of art. Psychologically detailed, beautifully shot and acted. Highly recommended for viewers interested in the complexity of humanity.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Angels with varying outlooks
Review: A French film that doesn't seem at all foreign. The city of Lille could've been Chicago or New York and viewers would still find a mesmerizing storyline involving a pair of twenty-something women who strike up an unlikely friendship. One is living out of a duffel bag yet maintains streams of optimism; her friend, however, has more material possessions but can't shake depression. The film features a rare mix of grit and tender eroticism. I recommended it to my girlfriend, who called it one of the most haunting movies she had ever seen.

One funny aside regarding "Dreamlife": In "High Fidelity" leading man John Cusack looks up an old sweetheart who has become a movie reviewer. Among the traits he still finds alluring is that "I still hate the movies she likes," which he mutters as they leave a theatre where the marquee reads "Dreamlife of Angels." I suppose "Dreamlife" could be construed as a chick flick, but then again, I'm not a chick and I count it among my favorites.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: As depressing as it gets - the French movie par excellence
Review: Being very familiar with where it takes place, and having experienced first hand the terrible French economic depression (depression in general) of the early nineties, I cannot but somewhat relate to the story, and the overall effect of that movie is totally depressing. That may be very well acted and very realistic, I still regret having forked out 55 francs when it came out to feel bad the rest of the evening. But if that's your trip, I also advise Rosetta, and Hate (La haine) (which I love however - the Paris suburbs like if you were living there)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: touching relatable movie
Review: DLA accurately depicted the (specific kinf of) relationship between a pair of female friends. One of the girls is stable and generous and the other unstable and hardened and they are thrown together because they are desperate and lonely. Bouchez is charming and adorable with a heart of gold. Henstridge is cold and selfish. Her character immitates her mother when she clings to a no good man who doesn't really love her. I can relate to this movie and the acting was good, but the movie was a little slow so I give it 4 stars.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: touching relatable movie
Review: DLA accurately depicted the (specific kinf of) relationship between a pair of female friends. One of the girls is stable and generous and the other unstable and hardened and they are thrown together because they are desperate and lonely. Bouchez is charming and adorable with a heart of gold. Henstridge is cold and selfish. Her character immitates her mother when she clings to a no good man who doesn't really love her. I can relate to this movie and the acting was good, but the movie was a little slow so I give it 4 stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Compelling Story of Friendship & Employment...
Review: Dreamlife of Angels has much in common with Agnès Varda's film Vagabond (1985), where a woman is drifting trying to find her place in society through others, as well as Rosetta (1999) where a young girl in a socioeconomic struggle attempts to find a home and security. Despite the similarities, Dreamlife of Angels offers a unique cinematic experience as it depicts two twenty-something women living on the fringe of society while trying to find a job and companionship. The story dissects the friendship that develops between the two young women as they meet different people and share their thoughts, feelings, and roofs with one another.

Élodie Bouchez provides the audience with an authentic portrayal of Isa, a homeless, kind, and thoughtful young woman. Élodie shared the Best Actress Award with Natacha Régnier who performed as Marie. Marie is a restless, rigid and lonely soul in her twenties, who has a constant need to feel desired.

Isa arrives to Lille with her backpack and sleeping bag covered with the dust and dirt from the long road that she has traveled. Cold and hungry Isa finds out that the friend that she was to stay with is no longer in Lille. In a desperate attempt to make some money for food she makes some cards that she tries to sell to people pretending it is for a good cause. Through her endeavor with the cards she meets a Serbian immigrant that offers her a job as seamstress through which she meets Marie (Natacha Régnier). Isa quickly identifies herself with Marie whom eventually offers her to stay with her in an apartment which she is house-sitting.

On the second day of working as a seamstress Isa is fired for making a mess and when Marie hears about it she impulsively quits too. This begins a dreamlike period in the two girls lives where they do not bother about financial needs or responsibilities, which leaves them with just having fun together. However, they eventually notice people around are having money and there is a fiscal responsibility that people have in society. This is a lesson that was taught to them through a bouncer that reminds them that people must pay for tickets as that pays the musicians, the stage crew, and his salary, which are needed to pay the bills. Yet, the two girls are caught up in the no responsibility attitude, which leads their friendship into a crossroads where their differences accentuate.

Marie begins to form relationships with men in order to find her way into an easy lifestyle, while Isa slowly embarks on her own problems through a diary that she discovers. In essence, Marie and Isa are two opposite characters as Marie extrinsically seeks comfort and security from men who provide what she needs, which ends up becoming a dangerous emotional turmoil. Isa on the other hand searches for comfort intrinsically through the journal which she learns belongs to the girl in whose room she is staying. The differences also appear on the screen through the dark haired Isa's big smile and kindness while the blond Marie projects a self-centered and pessimistic attitude in everything she says.

The handheld camera work that Erick Zonca employs in Dreamlife of Angels provides an authentic atmosphere, as there is no trick photography, no filters to enhance the mood, and no special effects, which only leaves the characters to their actions and their lines. This cinematic minimalism enhances the realism as it brings a raw and untouched visual experience to the audience. Vagabond and Rosetta use the same technique to capture the same mood, as Zonca does, as he simply captures the moments between Isa and Marie. In these moments there are hopes, dreams, love, hatred, anger, and much more that come together into a compelling story of two women coming together and later drifting apart.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: EEEEE elodie bouchez
Review: Elodie bouchez has a gem of a performance in this ultra depressing saga of two twenty somethings. The movie aside from her tremendous acting falls a bit flat. It is neither here nor there nothing special but a good flick to watch if you want to be in a somber mood


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