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The Dreamers

Play trailer Poster for The Dreamers NC-17 2004 1h 56m Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
59% Tomatometer 164 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) Apr 26, 2024
5/5
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. Go to Full Review David Ansen Newsweek Mar 13, 2018
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. Go to Full Review Kim Newman Empire Magazine Apr 1, 2006
3/5
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. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Jul 28, 2026
The bohemian spirit is all over the film as Matthew loses his clothes along with his inhibitions and the liberating sex feels honest and right in its youthful excess, uninhibited but not exploitative. Go to Full Review Barbara Shulgasser Common Sense Media Aug 19, 2025
The Dreamers feels like a self-indulgent, adolescent wet dream of the famed Bertolucci. Go to Full Review Brendan Lemon Out Magazine May 27, 2022
If The Dreamers lacks the quality of Bertolucci's masterpieces, it still exhibits a ripeness that has been missing from his recent work. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad Sep 23, 2026 The Dreamers = a *3.5* star Movie! See more Juris O @Juris100 Jul 20, 2026 The movie is great but a bit boring. See more Chris M. @pianoman58 Mar 28, 2026 It's pretty graphic sexually, but doesn't feel exploitative at all. The script is entertaining, the acting feels natural. Loved all the cinematic references. A much better watch than, say, Gasoar Noe's "Love". See more retro b @retrobite Feb 1, 2026 These three are inventing reality in a bathtub; all of Paris fits into an apartment that smells of wine and three-day-old sex. They are a triad of poets of the body who inhabit the cinema because the street is a cemetery of bureaucrats. It is a visual poem that gives your soul a lick, though it forces you to digest that bourgeois aestheticism—that reminder that to be a dreamer, one must first have the bills paid. The triad needs the Molotov to be thrown in order to bring the revolution of art and life into praxis; a key piece for understanding desire as the principle of freedom. See more Jeff C @cheroky2 Dec 20, 2025 Maybe you have to be a fellow boomer to appreciate it, but this is one of my favorite period pieces.....it seems weird for me to refer to the 60's and 70's as a period piece, but since most people today consider computers and cell phones normal, it is. It was also the time of sexual experimentation and kink, the "Sexual Revolution," which this movie portrays excellently. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 24, 2025 Success in 1 hour and 56 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $2,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more 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)
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