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The Dreamers

Play trailer Poster for The Dreamers NC-17 Released Feb 6, 2004 1h 56m Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
59% Tomatometer 163 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In May 1968, the student riots in Paris only exacerbate the isolation felt by three youths: an American exchange student named Matthew (Michael Pitt) and twins Théo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (Eva Green). Having bonded over their mutual love of cinema, Matthew is fascinated by the sense of intimacy shared by Isabelle and Theo, who were born conjoined. When the twins' bohemian parents go away for a month, they ask Matthew to stay at their place, and the three lose themselves in fantasy.
The Dreamers

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Though lushly atmospheric, The Dreamers doesn't engage or provoke as much as it should.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Maher The Times (UK) Yes, there’s lots of sex and full-frontal nudity, but this is really a film about the intoxicating allure of cinema and its desensitising power, written by the last genuinely great philosopher film critic, Gilbert Adair. Rated: 5/5 Apr 26, 2024 Full Review David Ansen Newsweek The pleasures of "The Dreamers" stay mostly on the surface. But when the surface is as stylish and sexy as this, it's hard to complain. Mar 13, 2018 Full Review Kim Newman Empire Magazine Fans of film and gorgeous naked people of either sex will find much here to interest them. But it also has moments that make you want to throw stones. Rated: 3/5 Apr 1, 2006 Full Review Barbara Shulgasser Common Sense Media The Dreamers feels like a self-indulgent, adolescent wet dream of the famed Bertolucci. Aug 19, 2025 Full Review Brendan Lemon Out Magazine If The Dreamers lacks the quality of Bertolucci's masterpieces, it still exhibits a ripeness that has been missing from his recent work. May 27, 2022 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Bertolucci's overarching message - and the purpose of the story - is almost entirely lost to the youthful, callow, anarchic, pervasive sex and nudity. Rated: 3/10 Sep 29, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Stephen C Success in 1 hour and 56 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $2,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/24/25 Full Review LacosteTK N Came To Watch Eva Green, Stayed For Eva Green's Nude Scenes, And Remeber It For The Writing, A Spectacular Film About Cinama And The Confused Youth With No Sense Of Purpose In Life, This Film Is Gonna Be Immortalized By It's Unaging Theme, And It's Gonna Be More Relevant With Time, Thanks To The Three Cast Memebers And The Director Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/18/25 Full Review vicky n If it weren’t for these three dazzlingly beautiful people and their constant nudity, there would be nothing beyond beauty and eroticism. The film begins with a narrator, something that seems to tell an interesting story, and abruptly ends without the narrator voice and without context. There is no connection between the sexual games around the protagonists’ love for cinema and the revolution in which the context is set; there is no cohesion, and it seems to jump from one topic to another without any intersection between them. It seems as if the story had to be rushed, and at some point after the middle of the film, the thread was lost. Had it not been for the beautiful nudity of the protagonists, I would have stopped watching. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/28/25 Full Review Cristina B Camp Eva Green, frequently topless, fantastical an indulging in incestuous threesomes, is pretty difficult to beat. It is a racy and yet innocent film that is more about sexual awakening than politics or philosophy (at which some ham-fisted references are made), and seems to push the boundaires of sex on screen in precisely the same way the French new wave films did, but with a vile, morbid and self-indulgent 90s twist that must have been tough to swallow for a mass audience. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/15/25 Full Review Steve D Entertaining for Green. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/09/24 Full Review Priyan B Eroticism at its peak. 7/10 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/28/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Dreamers

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Cast & Crew

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Bernardo Bertolucci

Director

Michael Pitt

Matthew

Eva Green

Isabelle

Louis Garrel

Theo

Robin Renucci

Father

Anna Chancellor

Mother

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The Dreamers

A scene from the film THE DREAMERS. A scene from the film THE DREAMERS. A scene from the film THE DREAMERS. A scene from the film THE DREAMERS. A scene from the film THE DREAMERS. L to R: Eva Green, Director Bernardo Bertolucci, & Louis Garrel on the set of THE DREAMERS. L to R: Michael Pitt & Eva Green in THE DREAMERS. A scene from the film THE DREAMERS. View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In May 1968, the student riots in Paris only exacerbate the isolation felt by three youths: an American exchange student named Matthew (Michael Pitt) and twins Théo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (Eva Green). Having bonded over their mutual love of cinema, Matthew is fascinated by the sense of intimacy shared by Isabelle and Theo, who were born conjoined. When the twins' bohemian parents go away for a month, they ask Matthew to stay at their place, and the three lose themselves in fantasy.
Director
Bernardo Bertolucci
Producer
Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter
Gilbert Adair
Distributor
Fox
Production Co
Recorded Pictures Company
Rating
NC-17
Genre
Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 6, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 1, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.5M
Runtime
1h 56m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)