Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Twins seduce American during French unrest; sex, language.
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The Dreamers
What's the Story?
THE DREAMERS is Bernardo Bertolucci's 2003 romantic drama set in turbulent Paris of the late 1960s. Theo and Isabelle (Louis Garrel and Eva Green) make up a handsome pair of disturbed upper-class twins. They invite Matthew, a young pacifist American student (Michael Pitt), to become their sexual toy for a debauched stay at their parents' enormous apartment. The action recounts the time when the French government fired Henri Langlois, the co-founder and director of the hallowed 32-year-old Cinematheque Francaise. In protest, filmmakers and students take to the streets, sparking more sweeping protests, including anarchists and striking workers, and the entire class system comes under fire. As the three become involved in an erotic triangle, they also become involved in a political movement they may not fully understand.
Is It Any Good?
The Dreamers feels like a self-indulgent, adolescent wet dream of the famed Bertolucci. He seems to relish the thrill of placing an innocent in the psycho-sexual distress of two cases of arrested development. The twin trope alone is a tired cliché for sexual intrigue. Bertolucci's famed 1972 Last Tango in Paris also dwelt on the arousing fantasy of the chance sexual liaison of strangers, in that case one of the participants an older, domineering, and abusive man. But in 1972, the director was in his early 30s. Here, in his 60s, Bertolucci does not seem to have moved on from his intoxication with titillation. Rather than giving the film a youthful vigor, his seeming obsession lends it the stale and sad feel of an old voyeur enjoying his chance to manipulate and watch fresh young bodies. It's hard not to think the scenario is exploitative of young actors trying to launch their careers.
Add to that the monotone narration by Michael Pitt (at one point he says, "I could hear my heart pounding" with the fervor of announcing a lettuce purchase at the market), and much of this is unintentionally funny. As a result, Matthew just seems bored, not passionate. Apart from the sexuality, the film suggests that many upper-class, privileged youth who were in solidarity with bomb-throwing students, destructive anarchists, and striking workers didn't understand that they were advocating overthrowing the life they thoroughly enjoyed.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what this film is trying to say about the youth movement that sprung up in many countries during the late 1960s.
Do you think the twins were toying with Matthew, or did they genuinely think highly of him? Why?
Twins often have close relationships with each other. How is the twin relationship portrayed here? Does it seem unusual? Does it seem healthy? What is the film trying to tell us about these siblings?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : October 10, 2003
- Cast : Michael Pitt , Louis Garrel , Eva Green
- Director : Bernardo Bertolucci
- Studio : 20th Century Fox
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 115 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : explicit sexual content
- Last updated : August 28, 2025
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