Seule (1998)

You'll wonder at first what The Dreamlife of Angels has to do with the everyday lives and loves of two working-class girls who become unlikely buddies in the gray, cold city of Lille. It's worth waiting to find out. Isa's all big-eyed gamine (Élodie Bouchez), her dark hair short-cropped, a generous mouth given to smiles--she incandesces from homely to arresting radiance. Lacking roots, money, even a permanent roof, this open-hearted twentysomething embraces life as a parade of possibilities, demonstrating a rare gift for making authentic creature contact. In contrast, blonde, slender Marie (Natacha Régnier) suggests a fallen angel, her delicate features frozen into a permanent rictus of suspicious contempt. Class-conscious, this material girl hungers for upscale salvation. Mischievous peasant and would-be princess stalk good-looking guys in the mall; smoke and share confidences in bed; tease a couple of hefty club bouncers, one of whom comes to care, with surprising tenderness, for indifferent Marie. But all the energy and zest flow from Isa (auditioning for club work, her Madonna imitation is flat-out infectious, while Marie slouches through a listless "Lauren Bacall"). When Marie goes literally mad for a promiscuous club owner (Grégoire Colin)--his wealth and beauty the dream she's been living for--their lovemaking's like warfare; her prideful resistance to his power over her spirit and body is what first--and briefly--turns him on. Bouchez and Régnier rightfully shared Best Actress honors at Cannes: their characters--as well as the comatose girl Isa helps to call back to life--are endearingly earthbound angels, sustained or betrayed by their respective aspirations. First-time director Erick Zonca makes us feel palpably the small, warming pleasures of human existence, the pure, cold pain of a damaged soul exiled from her "heaven." Woven seamlessly into Dreamlife's plaincloth design is a persistent faith in miracles. --Kathleen Murphy Amazon.com

It's a French Movie

You gotta like French movies to be able to sit down and watch this. It might seem kinda slow and boring at first but the storyline sorta sneaks up on you. The title refers to how Marie (Natacha Regneir) percieves Isa(Elodie Bouchez) as a dreamer when they first met. This is just one of the misconceptions on the characters' part and also the audience because you'd think that the quite, unassuming Marie is the smarter and wiser of the two while Isa the drifter is a luckluster gad about. As the story unfolds, Marie is the dreamer who thinks a rich club owner would love her and take her away from her miserable life. Isa, the more realistic and sensible of the two tries to steer Marie away from her fantasies "you're probably not the only one, he's treating you like a common dog." The pacing of the movie is deliberate without tiring. The cinematography gets a bit claustrophobic specially on close ups but it's effective in capturing the subtle expressions of the human face. The two actresses are superb. Highly recommended. August 5, 2008

Write that in your diary, Isa!

It is beginning to get harder and harder to decipher cinema fact and fantasy, or should I say non-fiction versus fantasy. With the summer's largest box office possible relying on the fantastical, it is always a relief of fresh air to pick up a film that relies on human drama and realistic elements to pull you in. That is why I was excited to pick up the French film "La Vie Revee Des Anges" (or "The Dreamlife of Angels") because I was up for a moment of drama mixed in with the hardships of reality - and - it garnered numerous awards for its two leading actors, so why not - I would like to see "Spiderman 3" garnish such acknowledgments. So I jumped in, head first, and nearly hurt myself in the process. Alas, for nearly two hours I watched this film, with no excitement, no true drama, and no honest explanation of any kind. We were sucked in to watching two unknowns, not to the film world, but to each other in this film, walk through situations without any remorse, reason, or logic. Then, as the final credits begin to roll, with the final (and only shock) behind us, the realization that another tale of fantasy just passed through the DVD player begins to settle. This was not a film of drama, but of coincidence, chance, and absurdities.

Oddly, as you look at prior reviews for this film, there are many that speak very highly about this film. Not surprisingly, I cannot see why. It is French, which shouldn't garnish the praise just because it is in a different language (at times, foreign language films get praise for just being foreign), the story itself is as bland as white bread with butter, and finally our two main characters bring nothing refreshing to the table. "La Vie Revee Des Anges" transforms before your eyes into an over-hyped sub-par film about the French depression and the absurd nature of the woman's choice. As you can see, I had trouble with this film. I didn't know what to expect when it began, but I wanted to be impressed. I wanted to see phenomenal acting coupled with a story that best represented the imaginative title, but alas, nothing of the sort occurred. Here is what I saw for nearly 113 minutes: a homeless woman travels through France cheating some out of their money. She happens to find work at a sewing factory, but ends up loosing her job - not before she meets Marie, a woman of the same vein, who become closer friends. I would argue that a friendship does not blossom, but instead two people searching for something different happen to stay under the same roof. The homeless woman, Isa, convinces Marie that she can say, and the two attempt to share the times of their lives. Surprisingly, they share different values and visions, so when two men enter their lives, they react differently. Then, when a random third enters, he is used to gain sympathy and skewed views from the audience. He is the flint to this fire, but again, it just doesn't gain enough flame. In the end, an event occurs that is meant to shock and evoke tears, but between the lines of boredom, it just garnishes a yawn followed by excitement that the ending credits were drawing near.

I don't want to sound too pessimistic about this film, it had potential. I think director Erick Zonca can control his actors as well as give us haunting images, but when handed a struggling story, it is obvious that he cannot maintain. My biggest issue with this film is that random events occurred to two complete strangers. There was a point in this film where Zonca attempted to connect Isa and Marie as "friends", but as the film continues, I can never see them as such. These two women, prior to working at the same place, never knew each other, yet instantly they were to live together and have a connection. Suddenly, they are "dating" two men, and anger ensues when a third becomes a part of the picture. We were missing some scenes in between that would allow us to see a stronger connection. We needed to see conflict and resolution prior to the ending, or perhaps a stronger story about both of them prior to their first meeting to really have us understand these two. I was bored, these characters brought nothing to the table. Randomly, near the center of the film, Isa begins to visit this other complete stranger - of which Zonca immediately demands that we feel sympathy for. What this film transforms into is Zonca throwing random events, that with strengthening stories, would cause any audience member to tear up, but there isn't time for the details, so we eventually ... hum ... get lost in translation.

I think our two actresses would have been strong contestants in this film, had the story not been in shambles. I cannot fault the actresses, though a stronger voice between them would have been helpful. Marie's love interest falls prey again to someone who we, as an audience, don't know anything about. The brief snippets of information that we are handed in this film, does not give us enough to make our own judgment. He is portrayed, wrongly in my eyes, as the villain, but for me, it was just another case of not knowing enough to make the assumption. This is the argument that I have with the relationship between Isa and Marie. We don't know enough, they don't know enough about themselves to really pass judgment. When Marie makes the choice to be with the more dominate male in the film, Isa passes judgment - how could she? Did she know enough about the past of Marie or Marie in general to do so? I think not, how could she, we didn't get that satisfaction. So, this annoyed me throughout the film. Characters I didn't even know well enough, were passing judgment on others that nobody new well enough. It was rather embarrassing.

Overall, I focused mainly on the characters of this film as my most irritable moment because I wanted to like these Isa and Marie, but not enough was given to us for anyone to relate to the realizations or hardships. I agree that quite a bit of poverty was happening in France during this time, but again, Zonca could have established this a bit further with a bit more detail. Detail was the lacking element which lead to the downfall of this film. The moments with Isa and Marie could have been heightened with more detail, the scenes with Isa in the hospital could have been more developed, and the final scene could have had such a delivered impact if only we cared. I didn't care about Isa or Marie by the end, and that is why I am bitter about the film. The French have made such amazingly strong films, that this one came as a surprise. I cannot suggest it - nor shall I.

Write that in your diary, Isa!

Grade: ** out of ***** May 3, 2007

Rename it The Reality of Angels

This film is primarily a social commentary on the lives of two young women in northern France as they deal with facing the realities of the adult world. There is work, there is love, there is friendship, there is personal growth and an examination of what is valuable and what is not. At times it seems like a documentary, but both actresses are so talented the film moves along at a steady, interesting pace. There is no frequent, catchy musical backround to induce a mood in the audience, much the same as in the real world, and that adds to the tension. This is most definitely a movie worth seeing, especially if you're wondering what is going on in the minds of young, dysfunctional women in the western world today. November 11, 2006

Too True - The Tears Burn

If anyone remembers what it was like to be young in the 80's - in America - this is the mirror image of that desperation.

The film takes place in France.

It's a marvel of luck, good and bad.

It is a story that will apply to any country, and any age.

Any generation.

Just smile and do your work. What was the quote?

"You look like you were born to do this."

Not the quote - but the gist. April 22, 2006

wonderful snapshot of a time and place

This is a very beautiful and realistic film about two young women, who appear flatly normal but are in fact complex and struggling. Isa is working class and exploring around, trying ot build some sort of life for herself; she has great charm in a homely sort of way, and can reach out and connect. Marie, who becomes her special companion for a time, is middleclass, a refugee from an abusive household and desperate to escape herself. These are superbly drawn characters and the acting is brilliant, though Bouchez is the best.

Warmly recommended. March 19, 2006

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