Set in the late 60's with a legendary soundtrack to match, Italian visual poet Bernardo Bertolucci's latest film follows the American Matthew (Michael Pitt) as he expands his horizons in a French college and through a mutual passion for film meets Isabelle (Eva Green) and her twin brother, Theo (Louis Garrel) who live in a very different, personal world. The graceful plunge into the 60's youth culture of France opens the mind to many fertile paths of thought.Bertolucci shoots beautiful scenes with ease and re-imagines cinematic techniques at every turn. His outstanding approach to the commonly stale use of mirrors brings further uniqueness to the film.
The three lead talents come off with such realism they rarely seem to be acting at all. This is a highly memorable feature debut for both Green and Garrel.
I loved the insertions of scenes from older films such as Breathless and Freaks. Inspired by the characters' love and frequent immitation of film, these cut-aways also serve as a great offset to the movie's storyline, making it seem even more realistic when paralleled with the classic images.
The Dreamers is an enchanting piece that explores a rare route in life, and entertains the idea that an adoration of movies creates a voyeuristic audience that feels deprived of physical senses. Highly recommended.
