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The Dreamlife of Angels | Year: 1998 Classification: Foreign Film - French Directed: - Erick Zonca Actors/Actresses: - Élodie Bouchez - Natacha Régnier A sad and beautiful movie Two French girls who are "not the chosen ones" (to recall Cyndi Laper) befriend one another after meeting at a sweat shop where they operate sewing machines. One of them, Marie (Natacha Regnier) is apartment-sitting for a mother and her daughter who are in the hospital, victims of an accident. The other, Isabelle (Elodie Bouchez) has been living day to day with her backpack on her back, sometimes selling handmade cards on street corners. Almost immediately there is an affinity, and they find joy and adventure in one another's company. Part of the power of Erick Zonca's forceful and precise direction is to make us not only identify with his two heroines, but to force us see the world from their point of view. They are tossed about by strong emotions, powerfully projected by both actresses. Their lives and happiness are at the whim of forces beyond their control, the most powerful of which are their own feelings. When I was a little boy and went to the movies I would see three films, bang, bang, bang, one after the other, and when I came out, five or six hours later, I was transformed. I had grown, and I could see the world in a different way. Of course I was a little boy and every little bit of experience was amazing and added to my knowledge of the world. Now, such transformations, like moments of Zen enlightenment, are rare and precious. The Dream Life of Angels is one of those rare and precious films that has the kind of power to make us see the world afresh as though for the very first time. Bouchez and Regnier shared the Best Actress award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for their work in this movie. Indeed it is hard to choose between them. Both are wonderful. Bouchez's character, Isabelle, has a gentle, fun-loving, child-like nature, tomboyish and sentimental. Marie is cynical, uptight and wired. Her emotions swing wildly from deep pessimism to a tenuous hope for something better in this life. When she is seduced, rather forcefully, by the arrogant and predatory Chris (Gregoire Colin) who owns nightclubs and is accustomed to having his way with women, she is stunned to find that she wants him, needs him, loves him. But she knows (and is warned by Isabelle) that he is just using her and will dump her. She hates herself for loving him and therefore lashes out at Isabelle who is a witness to her humiliation. As a counterpoint to the raw animal love that Marie finds in Chris, there is the tender, dreamlike love that Isabelle finds for the daughter of the woman who owns the apartment. The mother dies from her injuries, but the daughter, Sandrine, lives on in a coma. Isabelle finds Sandrine's diary and reads it, and is touched by the sentiments expressed by the girl, and falls in love with her. A nurse tells Isabelle: "You can talk to her. She's sleeping, but she can hear you." Whether she can or not, we don't know, but to show her love Isabelle visits the comatose girl in the hospital and reads from her diary to her. In A Landmark in French motion picture history ! This is the sort of film people like me wait for. Its absolutely compelling, gripping stuff, and only France could make something this touching. Starring Elodie Bouchez in perhaps her most well-etched role yet (I found her turn in 'Wild Reeds' beautiful, but not as complex as the character here), this film will dazzle you and leave you feeling empty inside. The story revolves around Elodie and her new-found friend played by Natacha Regnier. The two are camping out at a house that Natacha is keeping for its only remaining owner - a girl who is in coma after an accident. The character study in this movie is bloody brilliant. First theres Elodie, the mousy, sweet-hearted girl who will do any odd job to get through life. Then theres Natacha, an empty, unloved woman who is so insecure in her body that she finds it hard to hold on to her self. The story follows Natacha's involvement with a handsome French-Algerian club owner (played by Gregoire Colin) and how this love affair propels her into madness. The relationship the two friends share as they hurl towards the film's unforgattable climax forms the crux of the movie, and it is not one that you will soon forget. I don't want to give too much away, but I left this film feeling that life was ultimately pointless, and it seems that the film-makers are driving home this point. The chilling end with Elodie at another mind-numbing workplace gave me a sense that cinema has now come to fully embrace the bleak, stark quality of real life. This is not escapist cinema, but celluloid's brutal look at real life and its traps and snares. Not a pretty picture at all, but I loved how the film made a statement without being clear in its' intent. Elodie and Natacha both won Best Actress trophies at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 for their roles in this film. Gregoire Colin soon gained fame and supermodel status in France and Germany after the release of this movie and its a pity hes not doing more with his talent. Elodie Bouchez will remind you of Audrey Tatou who played Amelie Poulain in the recent 'Amelie'. However, she is less saccharine and more down to earth than that heroine. I found her performance rivetting - its also very interesting in the way she finds time to bond with the girl in a coma, yet unwittingly neglects to help her living friend who is hurtling toward her own demise. This is a movie chockful of interpretations and little nuances and observations, and if you're a true lover of art house cinema as I am, 'Le Vie Revee des Anges' is a cause for real celebration. One of the best French films I've seen in recent times. Highly recommended. If you like this, check out 'Les parapluies de Cherbourg', 'Wild Reeds', 'Ma Saison Preferee' and 'Va Savoir'. Thanks for reading! Stark, brutal and eminently watchable "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. Buy The Dreamlife Of Angels at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Dreamlife Of Angels Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Dreamlife Of Angels This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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