Console best movie i've ever seen.

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

writerasfilmcritic The reason to watch "The Dreamlife of Angels" is to see how an accomplished and talented actor makes a movie come to life and seem absolutely real, for that is what both Elodie Bouchez and Natasha Regnier achieve in this film. Which performance is better? Upon several viewings, one must conclude that it is a draw. Bouchez's Isa opens the film as a wandering street urchin searching for a warm place to spend the night in Lille, a town in northern France. You feel sorry for her because she has no one but herself upon which to depend and roams around trying to find a decent situation, but her appearance and behavior are a tad off-putting and you can understand why no one is falling all over themselves to help her out. Once she does land a place to live with her alienated and terminally pessimistic workmate, Marie, she begins to blossom, gradually at first, ultimately being transformed into a lovely, sensuous, introspective, and vastly intuitive young lady who is a pleasure to watch. The key to her transformation is the security she has found, her budding friendship with Marie, and the comatose patient, Sandrine, whose apartment they share while she is in the hospital recovering from the accident that killed her mother. For the helpless Sandrine, Isa fully expresses her generous, optimistic nature, and with her care and attention, ultimately saves the girl's life. Sandrine, for her part, has given Isa exactly what she needs -- a secure place to live, the companionship it provides in housemate, Marie, and someone worse off than she had been who needs her help to survive.The high point of the film is one scene between Isa and Marie, wherein the two young women are discussing Isa's relationship with Sandrine after she confesses that she found the comatose patient's diary and had read it to her aloud in the hospital, hoping to wake her up. More than at any other point in the movie, we now see how beautiful these two "unexceptional" girls really are, the depth of their characters, and the poignance of their perceptions, despite their youth. Watch Bouchez's facial expressions closely. This naturally attractive actress is so subtle, but no doubt the cameraman should be given some of the credit, too, for it is he or she who captured it all on film.Regnier's performance is of an entirely different sort. She is such a sad young woman, so full of anger, pride, dignity, and spirit but utterly defeated by the world going in. She fully understands and appreciates the scope of its cruelty and has almost resigned herself to never being happy, yet she keeps trying. The last time she tries is when she pins all her remaining hopes on the stinking, arrogant little bastard, Chris, whose perennially smug expression practically demands a well-deserved punch in the face. He is the quintessential spoiled brat who has been totally sheltered from the seamier realities of life and always gets what he wants (or he will throw a tantrum). I've known many people of this sort, for they are an all-too-common breed, and am always appalled at the depths to which they will sink, their absence of shame, and the complete lack of insight they possess concerning the simplest of life's enduring truths. Nevertheless, they populate this earth like a bunch of selfish, sadistic cyborgs, ruthlessly dominating the less-advantaged and the underprivileged in the pursuit of shallow (if widely-recognized) achievements, seeking relief from the inevitable pressures they encounter with transient, ephemeral pleasures. They remain convinced that their money, their homes, their cars, their jobs, and their "perfect" children somehow totally define their worth, which of course, just ain't so, yet at any suggestion of this inconvenient fact, they may become truly dangerous and are capable of almost any turnabout or betrayal, however low and despicable. This "winner" Chris, therefore, is a corrupted, suppurating sore on the ass of humanity, although nobody but the "losers" Isa and Marie have the guts to put him in his place. Unfortunately, Marie falls in love with him, despite her knowledge of what a crumb he is, and is thus rendered powerless to defend herself against his predatory nature, sacrificing herself in his stead. Isa finally rebukes him soundly for the thoughtless way he has toyed with Marie's emotions before casting her aside. Like a total coward, he actually expects Isa to inform Marie that their affair has ended because he cannot face her, and the slap he receives is little more than a slap on the wrist. He slinks away wearing the same stupid, self-satisfied grin we have come to expect. In the scenes where Marie seeks his company, knowing full well that she likely will be taken down yet another notch, the distraught, pained look in her childlike eyes is intense. Probably her best scene is when her competition, a pretty but shallow French snob (the sort of conceited blonde tart one used to see in ski lodges flirting with the owner), dares to insult her right in front of Chris. Marie suddenly jumps her and gives her the all-too-brief ass-kicking she so richly deserves. Regnier is dead-on as the spirited, take-no-sh** Marie and her untimely demise is very sad. At least Isa, who isn't so proud about what she must do to make a meager living) is able to carry on, and just before Regnier is sacrificed, Sandrine emerges from her coma and is going to live. The ending is therefore mixed but hopeful, and a haunting song is played as Isa starts a new, more promising job and the credits roll. This is a poignant movie that demands repeated viewings.

Andy (film-critic) Oddly, as you look at prior reviews for this film, there are many that speak very highly about this film. Not surprisingly, I cannot see why. It is French, which shouldn't garnish the praise just because it is in a different language (at times, foreign language films get praise for just being foreign), the story itself is as bland as white bread with butter, and finally our two main characters bring nothing refreshing to the table. "La Vie Revee Des Anges" transforms before your eyes into an over-hyped sub-par film about the French depression and the absurd nature of the woman's choice. As you can see, I had trouble with this film. I didn't know what to expect when it began, but I wanted to be impressed. I wanted to see phenomenal acting coupled with a story that best represented the imaginative title, but alas, nothing of the sort occurred. Here is what I saw for nearly 113 minutes: a homeless woman travels through France cheating some out of their money. She happens to find work at a sewing factory, but ends up loosing her job – not before she meets Marie, a woman of the same vein, who become closer friends. I would argue that a friendship does not blossom, but instead two people searching for something different happen to stay under the same roof. The homeless woman, Isa, convinces Marie that she can say, and the two attempt to share the times of their lives. Surprisingly, they share different values and visions, so when two men enter their lives, they react differently. Then, when a random third enters, he is used to gain sympathy and skewed views from the audience. He is the flint to this fire, but again, it just doesn't gain enough flame. In the end, an event occurs that is meant to shock and evoke tears, but between the lines of boredom, it just garnishes a yawn followed by excitement that the ending credits were drawing near.I don't want to sound too pessimistic about this film, it had potential. I think director Erick Zonca can control his actors as well as give us haunting images, but when handed a struggling story, it is obvious that he cannot maintain. My biggest issue with this film is that random events occurred to two complete strangers. There was a point in this film where Zonca attempted to connect Isa and Marie as "friends", but as the film continues, I can never see them as such. These two women, prior to working at the same place, never knew each other, yet instantly they were to live together and have a connection. Suddenly, they are "dating" two men, and anger ensues when a third becomes a part of the picture. We were missing some scenes in between that would allow us to see a stronger connection. We needed to see conflict and resolution prior to the ending, or perhaps a stronger story about both of them prior to their first meeting to really have us understand these two. I was bored, these characters brought nothing to the table. Randomly, near the center of the film, Isa begins to visit this other complete stranger – of which Zonca immediately demands that we feel sympathy for. What this film transforms into is Zonca throwing random events, that with strengthening stories, would cause any audience member to tear up, but there isn't time for the details, so we eventually ... hum ... get lost in translation.I think our two actresses would have been strong contestants in this film, had the story not been in shambles. I cannot fault the actresses, though a stronger voice between them would have been helpful. Marie's love interest falls prey again to someone who we, as an audience, don't know anything about. The brief snippets of information that we are handed in this film, does not give us enough to make our own judgment. He is portrayed, wrongly in my eyes, as the villain, but for me, it was just another case of not knowing enough to make the assumption. This is the argument that I have with the relationship between Isa and Marie. We don't know enough, they don't know enough about themselves to really pass judgment. When Marie makes the choice to be with the more dominate male in the film, Isa passes judgment – how could she? Did she know enough about the past of Marie or Marie in general to do so? I think not, how could she, we didn't get that satisfaction. So, this annoyed me throughout the film. Characters I didn't even know well enough, were passing judgment on others that nobody new well enough. It was rather embarrassing.Overall, I focused mainly on the characters of this film as my most irritable moment because I wanted to like these Isa and Marie, but not enough was given to us for anyone to relate to the realizations or hardships. I agree that quite a bit of poverty was happening in France during this time, but again, Zonca could have established this a bit further with a bit more detail. Detail was the lacking element which lead to the downfall of this film. The moments with Isa and Marie could have been heightened with more detail, the scenes with Isa in the hospital could have been more developed, and the final scene could have had such a delivered impact if only we cared. I didn't care about Isa or Marie by the end, and that is why I am bitter about the film. The French have made such amazingly strong films, that this one came as a surprise. I cannot suggest it – nor shall I.Write that in your diary, Isa! Grade: ** out of *****

catamoore03 This film rides on the strength of the characters and shows how two women in the same situation deal with it dramatically differently. Isa and Marie form a bond over their similarities, yet Isa optimistically takes part in life, by searching for jobs, for entertainment, for friends, while Marie sits back as a sullen observer. This is demonstrated in the scene where the girls audition for a job as waitresses at "The Hollywood" and name their favorite stars. Isa chooses Madonna, buoyantly portraying her with a bubbly song and dance, while Marie chooses Lauren Bacall, imitating her by leaning on the wall and pretending to smoke a cigarette. As the movie progresses, both girls pursue outside relationships: Marie pursues a sexual relationship with a rich bar owner while Isa puts her heart into a friendship with a girl in a coma, whose apartment she and Marie are squatting in. The conclusion of the movie teaches a lesson on how one's attitude towards life takes such a strong role in determining one's place in it. Do not miss this movie.

Keith F. Hatcher This touching and compelling story is another one of those films which year after year drive me further and further away from Bollywood pot-boilers. In Europe we make films: in Hollywood they make spectacle turn-gate busters. This is a simple but sensitive story of two girls somewhat adrift in life, somewhat lost in the hopes for life, somewhat floating from day to day without much to go on or go by. But so refreshingly and carefully enacted and directed: Eric Zonca is indeed one of those directors who put great power into simple stories, so that the resulting film is captivating, beyond the story per se. Here is excellent European theatre, among the best. Mixing tragic moments with joyful experiences, mixing friendship in the deepest human values. "La Vie rêvée des anges" is a film for the intelligent and sensitive viewer who wants to see real life human drama at ground level.If you like this film, do not miss Fernando León de Aranoa's "Princesas" (2005)(qv).