Director: Steven & Harald Takke
Writers: Steven & Harald Takke
Cast: Lenz Moretti, Janou Iserloh
Running time: 30mins
I was very excited to watch the film Dream Man, as I am always excited to watch films with nuanced titles. The film sets the scene successfully and immediately: it starts with a dream, a man flying like a rocket in the sky, and when he comes back to reality the audience catches him at a very personal moment between beautiful blue and purple colours, getting out of his dream by his girlfriend’s words. Pretty quickly the viewer realises that the scene is set by this man, and the whole plot will unravel through his perspective. The aesthetics are laid out convincingly for the whole film; the plot is yet to start, but we understand that we do not mind about the plot, but about that specific character and how he gets through life.
The man (who remains unnamed in the film) is shown in the beginning dreaming while a woman makes him snap out of it. The next scene shows him to be with his friends, talking and organising some shady business. Those two (but really three) scenes are enough for the audience to get to know the character and establish a connection with him. There are several events taking place after that and towards the end that have been prepared and provoke the audience’s feelings, as well as big developments in relationships between the characters. I will not go into much detail but the film, as a short film, succeeds most of the time to keep the themes concentrated; most of the plot lines and relationships do not need any further clarifications or explanations., they stand alone as they are, and keep the balance between overexplaining and mystery.
Technically speaking, every aspect is done well.The image is great, and there is a clear distinction aesthetically between the ‘real’ and dream sequences. There is a lot of care on the visual aspect, and it is always clear that the viewer always follows the Man’s perspective, no matter the circumstance. Sound-wise it is also all technically well, but the music is lost because of the low volume. It would be a bold decision for a beginner filmmaker, definitely, but the music was almost non-present in the little scene it did exist. The acting was mediocre to good, with the main actor being effective but with some moments that needed more emotional involvement from his part. The main actress, the girlfriend, was very convincing and can definitely go places in the future, as she showed enough range with the sensitive romantic scenes, as well as with the more frustrating ones.
The aesthetics of the film are refreshing, always navigating the viewer in a smart way as to if they are in a dream or not. The dream sequences are extremely diverse and effective, varying from flying (don’t we all dream of flying?) to romantic scenes to desperation, and that creates a great flow and organic transitions to the film. The story unfolds in a great way, with some overexplaining from time to time – mostly on the scenes with the ‘business’ the Man is involved – and is enough in quality and quantity to not overflow the audience with information in the duration of 30 minutes. That being said, the first half of the film has great pacing and development, while the second half (from the ‘twist’ on) feels like it escalates too quickly; the events take place faster than before and are evidently more intense. The characters have convincing build up, the writing overall is really good (with the exceptions of overexplaining, a trope usual for new filmmakers) and the balance between dreams and reality magnificent.
The music and sound are good and effective; however I believe the music could have a more powerful presence, especially in the dream sequences, both in volume but especially in intensity. I felt that the filmmakers took the ‘easy road’ of using the minimum amount of music that is just ‘supposed to be there’ in a sense, while some more extreme choices could benefit the dream atmospheres and elevate the film completely, giving it even more layers and depth while supporting the already strong visual aesthetical choices. Dream Man has a rise and a fall, as everyone does, he tries to make do in a reality that is not fair for anyone and has to make difficult decisions, something we can all relate to. In a way, his journey is our journey as well, battling reality with dreams, and dreams with even more dreams.
The film is definitely worth a watch and the potential of all cast and crew is evident; it is refreshing to see short films with such concise character and clear message that can keep the viewer interested.
The film has a distinct character and charm. Its duration allows the viewer to be immersed without getting tired of the subject or the characters; however, it would be preferable to focus even more on the dream sequences and dive deeper into the romantic relationships. It has truly potential for a feature film and it is an interesting watch. I am looking forward to more works of the directors, and I am hoping they will take more risks and bolder decisions in their future projects.