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Instant Dreams

Play trailer Poster for Instant Dreams Released Apr 19, 2019 1h 31m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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71% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Filmmaker Willem Baptist offers up a visual tribute to the fascination that people continue to have with Polaroid photography.
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Instant Dreams

Critics Reviews

View All (17) Critics Reviews
Amy Nicholson FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) Self-indulgent, but beautiful. Sep 27, 2019 Full Review Michael Rechtshaffen Los Angeles Times For a documentary examining the enduring affection for the late Polaroid camera Willem Baptist's "Instant Dreams" proves to be an awfully drawn-out process. Apr 25, 2019 Full Review Frank Scheck The Hollywood Reporter Any viewers actually interested in the topic would be well advised to search elsewhere for information. Apr 18, 2019 Full Review Ron Wilkinson It's Just Movies The death of the Polaroid compares the photo to the mirage. Do we care most about the instant, or the dream? Rated: 7/10 May 30, 2019 Full Review Carson Mlnarik Film Inquiry What Willem Baptist has crafted is a documentary that feels rooted in both avant garde film and the spirit of Polaroid cameras. May 25, 2019 Full Review Anne Brodie What She Said A moody mishmash of people in unique disciplines addicted to Polaroids, starting with the creators of the process and their complex journey. May 17, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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john s ROID RAGE This is a documentary about Polaroid instant film. Might not be so obvious, but really, it really is. Falling asleep halfway through does not diminish said proclamation. Might require several viewings (as was the case) and multiple strong coffees, but "Instant Dreams" tells (kinda) the story of the revolutionary film process (well, until digital made everything obsolete) that swept the nation, nay the world. Telling the tale in a bizarre, seemingly unrelated fork paths, this flick follows oddball folks as they expound on the virtues of not waiting a week to see their snaps, plus a love for the stupendous superiority of blurry, colour challenged shots. Folks covet their Polaroids. And now when the "back to analogue" scam, er, movement has convinced hipsters to buy vinyl records at $40 a pop, the resurgence of expensive old school photographs is a thing. Ramping up the quirk factor, is an oddly menacing, purply hued conspiratorial style doc within this doc, about mysterious science genius and Polaroid founder Edwin H. Land. In some rare, creepy, but in a cool X-Files way footage, he basically predicts the iPhone by taking out a dark object, faking/taking a picture with it, and making a claim that it will store all your information. Edwin H. Land passed in 1991. Is this for real? Is this like the moon landing? Who knows? Not me. But clearly a full blown documentary on Edwin H. Land is deserving, if not a ninety hour PBS project by Ken Burns. Filled with weird, psychedelic interludes (the staying awake challenge), there's a "Space Odyssey: 2001" vibe going on here. As in, there's something way bigger than physical photos at play here. Or maybe not. I loved "Instant Dreams", all three times, perhaps for the wrong reasons, but there you have it. Snap snap snap. - hipCRANK Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw it. Loved it. Took out the old camera. Enjoyed my day. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member A hypnotic almost spiritual doc, that feels like a marriage between 2001 a Space Odyssey and a Werner Herzog documentary. Riveting, unsettling and joyous at the same time. A real gem. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Wonderful quirky documentary, that takes you on a journey to a magical analog place. The visuals are dazzling, hypnotic even and the small intermingled stories heartfelt. Not your average doc, still a journey I very much enjoyed. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Instant Dreams

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Willem Baptist offers up a visual tribute to the fascination that people continue to have with Polaroid photography.
Director
Willem Baptist
Producer
Pieter van Huystee
Screenwriter
Willem Baptist
Distributor
Synergetic Distribution
Production Co
Pieter Van Huystee Film and Television
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 19, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 22, 2019
Runtime
1h 31m
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