# Vie rêvée des anges, La (1998)

### reviewed by
Frankie Paiva

    The Dreamlife of Angels (R) **
    Starring Elodie Bouchez, Natacha Regnier
    Directed by Erick Zonca
    Year Released: 1998
    A Review by Frankie Paiva

Being entertained is the purpose that all of us go to the movies. The motion pictures that fill the screens in your local multiplex shows great adventures and wonderful romance about five times a day for your viewing pleasure. Thatâ€™s why it is a rare thing when a film comes along that threatens to be a movie about the normal (or not normal it is up for you to decide) lives that people live. We are not talking about only people in America but all around the world. The French import The Dreamlife of Angels by first time directed Erick Zonca is just this type of tale. Nothing fancy, no elaborate anything, but still full of raw, pure emotion. Films like these are rarely, (if ever), made in the United States. How will US audiences take a movie that wonâ€™t excite them or make them feel happy coming out of the theater? That seems like a question for this movieâ€™s box office and word of mouth to answer.

Isa (Bouchez) has just begun working at a sewing factory in Lille when she meets Marie. Marie isnâ€™t the type of person to open up to anyone, let alone a stranger, but the two begin to form a bond of friendship. She invites her to move into the flat that she is watching over for a mother and daughter who are in a coma. The girls run about the streets looking for their ideal man and a good sum of money.

Isa is obviously much more sensitive and has a much greater amount of empathy than Marie and begins to visit the girl whom the flat belongs to in the hospital. One day when Marie tries to shoplift a leather jacket out of a store, a rich club owner named Chris (Gregoire Colin) rescues her from the police. Marie fancies Chris until she discovers that he is really a jerk and then rapes her as payment for the leather jacket. Distancing herself from Isa, she continues to see the man that has blinded her with feelings of love. The girls find themselves distancing from one another as their friendship turns into hatred.

The Dreamlife of Angels could be re-titled â€œWhy You Should Go To College and Get A Good Job.â€? The girls do many things in desperation of getting money and their lives are anything but dreamy. Most of the events showcased in the film range somewhere between sad, extremely depressing, or just plain horrible. The acting, on the other hand, is superb, Elodie Bouchez is wonderful as Isa and has some very emotion scenes that showcase her acting talent. Natacha Regnier is good as Marie and she does an excellent job with her tough girl attitude that occupies most of her character. Some of this Dreamlife looks like it was shot with a home video camera, but it turns out to be OK because the filming doesnâ€™t matter as much as the character development does. The film is sluggish (the 113 minute running time could easily be shortened to about 95 minutes) and slow in many parts. So I cannot quite recommend it if you are looking for a fun little movie to watch on a Saturday night. But for those that are looking for a film with a message that is (somewhat) hard to get, (I am sure that there are some people like that out there somewhere) rent The Dreamlife of Angels, it gets ** stars.

The Young-Uns: The film contains a sex scene with graphic movement. There are three separate shots featuring bare breasts, a couple is shown in bed after sex, and there is some strong language. The film is also drenched with emotional tension. Good Age 15 & Up

A Review by Frankie Paiva The 12 Year-Old Movie Reviewer E-Mail me at SwpStke@aol.com Visit my website at http://www.homestead.com/teenagemoviecritic/mainpage.html

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