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THE DREAMLIFE OF ANGELS Send This Review to a Friend
The 1998 New York Film Festival used good judgment in assigning the closing night to "The Dreamlife of Angels,'' a French film now getting much-deserved commercial distribution. Erick Zonca's first feature is a remarkable drama with outstanding performances by actresses Elodie Bouchez and Natacha Regnier, who shared the best actress award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.
Bouchez portrays Isa, a resourceful, independent young drifter who finds herself friendless in a city and takes a job at a factory, where she meets Regnier as Marie, who is more deeply emotionally disturbed than immediately discernible. Isa moves in with Marie and the two become close pals. But their paths take conflicting turns.
What's so striking about this film is how well we get to know the women and their milieu. Zonca's attention to detail creates a strong reality of place as well as character. Much is covered in the course of the story to illuminate personality and attitude, and we end with an unforgettable portrait of the strength and weaknesses of these two women, and how each responds to one another and to outside pressures, as well as to their own emotions.
Mark this down as one of the best films to come from France in the 90s. A Sony Classics release.
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