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The Dream of Light

Play trailer The Dream of Light Released Jan 20, 1993 2h 19m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Filmmaker Victor Erice follows Spanish artist Antonio Lopez in his painstaking attempt to paint the image of a tree.

Critics Reviews

View All (10) Critics Reviews
Dmitry Samarov Chicago Reader Rather than showing the romanticized wild-man version of the artist’s life that’s become pop culture cliche, here is what the work actually entails, moment to moment, day to day, year to year. Jul 14, 2023 Full Review Janet Maslin New York Times In its own minimalist way it becomes a thoughtful, delicate inquiry into the essence of the artistic process, and a tribute to the beauty and mutability of nature. Mr. Erice's film is much bigger than it may appear to be. Rated: 4.5/5 May 20, 2003 Full Review J. Hoberman Village Voice More analytical than contemplative, never less than straightforward, Dream of Light makes no showy bid for the sublime. Apr 18, 2002 Full Review Jaime Pena Caimán Cuadernos de Cine Any opportunity that's presented to us so that we can enjoy a masterpiece of the caliber of this film is welcomed. [Full review in Spanish] May 22, 2017 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews The Cinematheque Ontario's international panel voted it the best film of the 1990s, which can only lead me to question what they were smoking at the time. Rated: B Mar 9, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 23, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (18) audience reviews
raphael g So calm and beautiful Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member well crafted film about the artistic process Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member A beautiful film about capturing an artist at work, this would make a nice companion piece to La Belle Noiseuse. The artist here is much more precise and orderly, and the film languidly shows us just how much effort goes into his art. It's also, in a quiet way, about all the endeavors that we spend so much time doing. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best documentaries of all time. Impressionistic vision about touching which is cannot be touched be it with a camera or with a paintbrush. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Two Artists were at work; Antonio Lopez in front of the Canvas and Victor Erice behind the Camera. The Result: A Masterpiece! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member [center][font=Times New Roman][size=4][img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3mCOm4wxK3M/SV_dhVEGwcI/AAAAAAAABhM/Qbk7Bx5NvXg/s400/dream.jpg[/img][/size][/font][/center] [font=Times New Roman][size=4][/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=4]Summary (from IMDB): The artist, Antonio Lopez, tries to paint the quince tree he planted some time back in his garden. Throughout his life, he has worked on the same theme many times, almost as if it were a physical necessity. Every year, with the arrival of autumn, this need resurfaces. The artist's work has never represented the sun's rays between the leaves of the tree, and, given his characteristic realist style, he tries to achieve this.[/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=4][/size][/font] [center][img]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3mCOm4wxK3M/SV_dcIV-QgI/AAAAAAAABhE/aR9_JeGriws/s400/dream2.jpg[/img][/center] [font=Times New Roman][size=4][/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=4]The Dream of Light is definitely the weakest I've seen from Erice, but it's still a solid movie. Really, the first half of the film is very good. Had it been a 90 minute film that ended right as he (spoiler) [color=black]put his initial painting on the shelf[/color] I would have given this a much higher score. The process of the artist preparing and the obstacles he runs into were all very interesting and filmed in a beautiful and poetic fashion. Unfortunately, watching this for over two hours became a bit much. I almost felt like watching it in fast-forward for the last 20 minutes.[/size][/font] Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Dream of Light

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Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Victor Erice follows Spanish artist Antonio Lopez in his painstaking attempt to paint the image of a tree.
Director
Víctor Erice
Producer
Carmen Martínez
Screenwriter
Víctor Erice, Antonio López García
Distributor
Facets
Production Co
Maria Moreno P.C.
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Spanish
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 20, 1993, Original
Runtime
2h 19m
Sound Mix
Stereo