The Dreamers Movie Review
Bertolucci's penultimate effort comes across as a graphic full frontal look at insanely idyllic and innately pretentious student life masquerading as a study on an obsessive and borderline incestuous sibling bond.
Probably best thought of like a companion-piece to his 1996 Stealing Beauty, than to the darker and more controversial Last Tango in Paris, or the epic The Last Emperor, Bertolucci's ode to a love of French cinema - both classic and New Wave - plays much better as a snapshot of impossibly perfect student life than as either a particularly insightful study of questionable sibling behaviour or even an exercise in provocative taboo-breaking. There's a political backdrop, sure, with a few minutes at the start and end looking at the ongoing 1968 Paris student riots, the latter seemingly attempting to gift the picture a modicum of 11th hour impact, but really Bertolucci's focus is upon the naked bodies of his three stars, perfecting his angles and composition on the most intimate parts of them, in close-up, and possibly getting utterly lost in the process.
burning through the majority of the runtime gliding the camera across Green's crotch
The story sees Michael Pitt's (Boardwalk Empire) exchange student Matthew arriving in Paris and soon being swept into an intoxicating fever dream of an existence by twins Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel). It's an impossible nonsense of a voyage seen from the perspective of anybody who has ever been a student, but there's still something innately dreamy about the depiction - what exchange student wouldn't have wanted to land smack in the naked arms of these two beautiful youths, with no thought of money or purpose beyond sleep, sex, alcohol and endless debates about movies?
But Bertolucci appears to be shooting for more than that, early on questioning the 'relationship' between the brother and sister - they sleep naked together, shares baths together, and vehemently redefine the notion of inseparable, to the point where the sister would prefer to commit suicide than have the full extent of her sibling behaviour revealed to her parents - and hinting at discourse when Matthew threatens to separate them, and when Theo responds in kind. Yet there's little more that the director appears to actually want to say about this, burning through the majority of the runtime gliding the camera across Green's crotch (and, for that matter, everybody else's - there's absolutely no doubt that this is the fully uncut version of the film, granted an NC-17 rating stateside, but wholeheartedly 18, and then some, here), leaving The Dreamers a curious entry in his filmography - neither capable of embracing its more frivolous look at student sex for what it is, nor prepared to delve deeper into its taboo themes and more complex character issues.
Arguments could be made that the whole point of Bertolucci's work is that he's observing an inert state of pointless, empty, pretentiousness; impotent digressions and pontifications on life from a trio of individuals who have actually, for all intents and purposes, hit the pause button on actually living it. They're stuck in a dream, unable to even engage in a meaningful conversation (the nonsense Matthew spouts when he drifts away from what the twins' father is saying sums this up, though the reaction to it is silly). But even this reading doesn't ring true with the director's introduction of darker themes underlying, and underconstruction of them - it's the movie that this could have been, had he embraced a Dazed and Confused approach devoid of incest, murder-suicide and mental discourse.
Bravely acted by the trio - you can see why Green's parents warned her against making her debut in such a revealing fashion - to newcomers it may come across as a curio at best, ironically studying student pretentiousness whilst possibly coming off as pretty pretentious itself.
The Dreamers 4K Video
The Dreamers comes to Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray, but only in the UK at the moment, which is always a pleasant reversal of fortune, particularly for a film that likely many never expected to see grace the format. Icon Film Distribution's 4K UHD disc comes complete with Dolby Vision HDR and looks absolutely stunning.
The disc provides the following reference notes:
The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003) was restored in 4K by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, in collaboration with Recorded Picture Company. The image was restored from the original camera negative preserved at CSC - Cineteca Nazionale. The soundtrack was restored from original masters made available by Recorded Picture Company.
The restoration was supervised by Fabio Cianchetti, Director of Photography.
The restoration was carried out under the aegis of the Fondazione Bernardo Bertolucci by L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in 2023.
The disc presents a 3840x2160/24p BT.2020 image in the film's original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1, has WCG, High Dynamic Range (and Dolby Vision), and is encoded using the HEVC (H.265) codec.
We reviewed this 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on an LG 65C2 Dolby Vision 4K Ultra HD OLED EVO TV with a Panasonic DP-UB820EB-K Dolby Vision HDR10+ 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player.
only in the UK at the moment
Icon Film Distribution appear to be completely new to the 4K format, but, if their treatment of Bertolucci's 2003 arthouse 'classic' is anything to go by, they are certainly a boutique label who shouldn't be underestimating, delivering an absolutely outstanding rendition of the feature, rich in filmic texture, with no signs of DNR whatsoever, but nonetheless affording an image devoid of defects, and simply basking in tremendous detail and that filmic veneer. Sure, the heavy lifting appears to have been carried out at the restoration level, but there's no denying that this is impressive encoding work too, and the results are better than any fan of the film could have possibly hoped for.
WCG and HDR, of the Dolby Vision flavour, breathe new life into the colour scheme, providing healthy skin tones, and an impressive period palette that enjoys the Parisian trappings, with flashes of vibrant reds affording interstitial pop, but the majority reliant on lavish wood browns and classic architecture and apartments with a very lived-in feel. It's a lavish restoration and an excellent presentation.
The Dreamers 4K Audio
The Dreamers' 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray doesn't necessarily surprise in its lack of Atmos and more than covers the bases with a pair of solid tracks - DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 lossless offerings. Obviously the 5.1 track is the primary choice for most - the one that playback defaults to - and it's a very good accompaniment that ticks all the boxes.
We reviewed the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on a Samsung HW N950.
very good
Dialogue - predominantly English, with a smattering of French - is promoted at the forefront, as you would perhaps only expect, cleanly and coherently throughout (but for perhaps a couple of early moments when the crowd noises appear to cause some balance issues when juxtaposed with the lead characters' dialogue, however this never occurs again), taking priority over the proceedings. Background noises are designed to craft an authentic vibe, not tasked with any particular heavy lifting given the limited locations on offer, but doing the job well nonetheless, but it's the crowd scenes that really give a sense of broader scale across the array, unfortunately largely limited to the start and end of the film. It's a very good track.
The Dreamers 4K Extras
The Dreamers' UK 4K disc enjoys an excellent selection of extra features, porting over the Commentary onto the 4K disc proper, whilst relegating the remaining bountiful extras to the accompanying Blu-ray.
excellent
- Cinema, Sex and Politics: Bertolucci makes The Dreamers and The Making of The Dreamers - Across two in-depth featurettes, experience how the film was brought to life from script to screen and uncover the real events of 1968 that inspired this remarkable story. Featuring extensive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew
- Feature commentary with Bernardo Bertolucci, writer Gilbert Adair and producer Jeremy Thomas
- Interviews with Bernardo Bertolucci, Eva Green, Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, Gilbert Adair and Jeremy Thomas
- B-Roll - take a step behind the camera to witness the filmmaking process and iconic sets from a unique perspective
- Original trailer and 4K remastered trailer
- Also included are four exclusive art cards and an A3 print of the film’s original poster
Conclusion
The Dreamers 4K Blu-ray Review
The Dreamers is a Bernardo Bertolucci film. It also features an NC-17 warranting level of graphic sex and nudity. That's likely enough for most to hop on this train, but beneath the surface, there's unfortunately not quite enough going on with Bertolucci's penultimate feature, failing to capitalise on the heady topic of incest, nor delve particularly deep into what is otherwise a pretty frivolous look at student sex (though of the impossible variety only really showcased in movies). Sure to have its ardent fans, newcomers might find that the film could have benefited from either being darker and more observant of its underlying themes, or indeed more readily prepared to instead embrace its student observations without the pretence of being anything more.
it's a curio at best, ironically studying student pretentiousness whilst possibly coming off as pretty pretentious itself
Icon Film Distribution's debut 4K release is an absolute winner. Certainly the film has its fans - indeed this may be that rare dissenting opinion - so it should be highlighted that if you do love the film, you'll be very impressed by this lavish new 4K restoration of the 'fully uncut' 'NC-17' version of the film, complete with Dolby Vision HDR, as well as by the accompanying extra features both on disc, and in the physical set itself. If you love the film, it's undoubtedly a recommended release.
Icon Film Distribution proudly presents legendary director Bernardo Bertolucci's modern classic The Dreamers, restored in 4K Ultra HD, available on Digital now and 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray disc on 13 May, with more than three hours of bonus materials!
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