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The dreamers - Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, Eva Green, Bernardo Bertolucci

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Left alone in Paris whilst their parents are on holiday, Isabelle (Eva Green) and her brother Theo (Louis Garrel) invite Matthew (Michael Pitt), a young American student, to stay at their apartment. Here they make their own rules as they experiment with their emotions and sexuality while playing a series of increasingly demanding mind games. Set against the turbulent political backdrop of France in the spring of 1968 when the voice of youth was reverberating around Europe, The dreamers is a story of self-discovery as the three students test each other to see just how far they will go. Helmed by Academy Award-winning director Bernardo Bertolucci.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film drama France relationship holiday romance sex threesome bisexual brother sister mind games Sixties intellectual

Persons of interest

Michael Pitt .... Matthew
Louis Garrel .... Theo
Eva Green .... Isabelle
Anna Chancellor .... Mother
Robin Renucci .... Father
Jean-Pierre Kalfon .... Himself
Anna Karina .... Odile (Archive footage of Bande à part)
Jean-Pierre Léaud .... Himself
Gilbert Adair .... Novelist: The holy innocents
Gilbert Adair .... Screenwriter
Bernardo Bertolucci .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

The dreamers official movie site
The dreamers QuickTime movie trailers
Awards and film festivals:

Belfast Film Festival 2004: Screening
Cinematic Intelligence Agency Trenchcoat Awards 2004: Won: Best penis with an actor (Little Michael Pitt)
David di Donatello Film Festival 2004: Nominated: Best Editing (Jacopo Quadri)
Dublin International Film Festival 2004: Screening
Goya Awards 2004: Nominated: Best European Film (Miguel Contreras Torres)
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists 2004: Nominated: Silver Ribbon: Best Cinematography (Fabio Cianchetti); Best Director (Bernardo Bertolucci); Best Editing (Jacopo Quadri)
San Sebastián International Film Festival 2003: Screening
São Paulo International Film Festival 2004: International perspective
Sundance Film Festival 2004: Screening

NB: English and French languages with English language subtitles
Studios and distributors:

20th Century Fox

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Clichés: inhibited young Yank goes to Europe and gets uninhibited with exotic Europeans.

Interesting events: sex, student riots, cinephiles, red wine, decrepit yet glorious French architecture, black and white movies, penises, labia, pubic hair, nipples, cigarettes, black, molotov cocktails.

Length: too much length. Not enough shortness.

Sexual tension: lots and lots and lots. Not just from them being teenagers but from wondering if those wacky Frenchies are going to trick the dumb Yank into a ménage à trois.

Euro-decadence: more cigarettes, red wine and black and white films than you can shake a baguette at.

Euro-culture: as far as I'm aware, only the French could have riots because someone was fired from their job as curator of an art-house cinema.

American exoticism: you won't believe what Michael Pitt does with a banana.