Search - Dreamers on DVD

Dreamers is a great indy film.

10/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An elderly Asian man tours Hollywood's landmarks, ruminating on the dreamy power of movies. Suddenly, we jump to the American heartland, where two boys growing up in a strict religious community plan to run away to Hollywood. This playful, oddly forked opening introduces a remarkable new talent in writer-director Ann Lu. She not only sagely dramatizes the power of movies - that it means escape, adulthood, even a substitute for religion, to these boys - she keeps us mindful that the world is, at all times, a larger place than any individual's story might suggest. When the two boys reunite in Hollywood as young men, one is streetwise and resourceful, the other naive and trusting, but both are interestingly deluded, as Lu conceives it. Neither has a monopoly on either courage or truth. This debut feature is tremendously impressive in its honesty, its refusal to cheat us with formulaic plot twists or ready-made insights. Lu, a native of China, is sharply attuned to our local dialects of greed, hope and spiritual desperation. She has a marvelous ear for what people are not saying, matched with an ability to make illuminating sense of where their hearts are leading them."

A smart film that's worth owning

B. Collin | Los Angeles, CA USA | 10/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Movies about Hollywood dreams generally fall into one of two categories: ... "Dreamers" is a rare picture in that it really captures the mindset of the indie filmmaker, with humor, compassion, and spot-on insight. I've watched it many times, and I find something new I like in it each time I see it. The director and cinematographer team are wonderful, and I can't wait to see what they come up with next. In the end, you'll find out that we're all "Dreamers!""

Dreamers is the real deal...

B. Collin | 03/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As someone who lives and works in Los Angeles/Hollywood, DREAMERS does show the "real" Hollywood. The film offers no apologies for showing the way it really is and does not cheat the audience with a sugar-coated fantasy world.Entertaining and on-point from the first frame, Ann Lu has pulled off the real deal..."