La Vie Rêvée des Anges (The Dreamlife of Angels)(The Daydreams of Angels) (1998)

93% of critics liked it
(42 reviews)
82% of users liked it
(4,291 ratings)

Elodie Bouchez and Natacha Regnier both won "Best Actress" honors at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival in this naturalistic drama about two women alienated from mainstream society. After a trio of short films, this is the feature directorial debut of 41-year-old French filmmaker Erick Zonca. With… More Elodie Bouchez and Natacha Regnier both won "Best Actress" honors at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival in this naturalistic drama about two women alienated from mainstream society. After a trio of short films, this is the feature directorial debut of 41-year-old French filmmaker Erick Zonca. With opening scenes reminiscent of Agnes Varda's Vagabond (1985), optimistic hobo Isa (Bouchez), with her life in her backpack, has a gritty existence on the road, going from one town to another through northern France, working factory jobs and selling cards. After she loses a garment-factory job, her withdrawn, near-catatonic co-worker Marie (Regnier) lets Isa share space in her Lille living quarters -- an apartment actually belonging to a hospitalized mother and daughter. Marie begins an affair with burly bouncer Charly (Patrick Mercado) before achieving an emotional breakthrough with sleazy, animalistic club-owner Chriss (Gregoire Colin). Meanwhile, Isa becomes fascinated with the girl who lived in the apartment but now lies in a coma at the hospital. The film combines handheld camerawork with a minimalist music score (Yann Thiersen) and documentary-like street sounds. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 53 min.
Directed By: Erick Zonca
Written By: Erick Zonca, Roger Bohbot
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Sep 9, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Aug 24, 1999
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Frank, intimate, touching, with an emotional immediacy that is killing.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
It's a compelling work about loneliness and two ways of dealing with it.
Susan Stark, Detroit News
Zonca shows an extraordinary ability to get into the female psyche.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The movie understands what few American movies admit: Not everyone can afford the luxury of following their hearts.
Elizabeth Weitzman, Film.com
[Bouchez and Regnier have] fleshed out portraits of a depth rarely seen on screen.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
In an American indie, the two girls would be cute slackers; in Dreamlife, they're imbued with the inchoate sadness of feminine existential loneliness.
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
Two unforgettable characters are revealed, and the truth resonates powerfully through their stories.
Michael Dequina, Film Threat
Allows the viewer to not only see, but experience the pain of these characters.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Zonca's lyrical cinema verite style magnifies the small tensions and flare-ups that can blow apart a friendship in the blink of an eye.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
The dreamlife of Angels (La Vie rêvée des anges) is a story of capitalistic and sexual exploitation, rage, rebellion, and the search for meaning in everyday things.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bob S

Might set the record for most cigarettes smoked in a movie ever. Very real-feeling, moving, great perfomances. OK, this is glib: kind of like if les freres Dardenne did a good chick flick.
Emily B

Excellent performances from the two lead actresses. Incredibly intense and real story, with a particularly emotional ending.
Quinto W

A beautiful and realistic protrayal of lost human beings looking for their own place in the world; perfectly performed and paced, even when not completely memorable.