i must be dreaming
Dreams That Eyes Can See
These are the films that best evoke dreams for me in one way or another. Dreams as I experience them, and the way they feel to me personally. “Dream-like” is a term that I tend to avoid using without any context, I find it too interchangeably used with “atmospheric”, and atmospheric is great, but this is about a particular type of atmosphere. The uncanny, for example, often is something that does the trick for me, or when events in the film could just as well be seen as manifestations of a character's unconscious.
"Surreal" is another word that I tend to avoid in this context, I associate it too much with symbolism, a work that tries hard to make you derive some metaphorical meaning from it, which often takes away from creating a state of dreaming. Maybe in retrospect you can read a dream in terms of symbols, but I’m not interested in this here, I rather want the actual experience of dreaming replicated as vividly as possible.
Also worth mentioning are the (generally metaphysical) concepts that at least in my mind have some overlay with dreaming, so the films here that you may find have no apparent connection to dreams likely relate to one or some of the following things: Subconscious, collective unconscious, death (or rather the afterlife/netherworld), trance, altered states, stream of consciousness.
In approximate order of evocativeness.
List also available at:
https://mubi.com/lists/i-must-be-dreaming
https://letterboxd.com/systematicer/list/i-must-be-dreaming/
These are the films that best evoke dreams for me in one way or another. Dreams as I experience them, and the way they feel to me personally. “Dream-like” is a term that I tend to avoid using without any context, I find it too interchangeably used with “atmospheric”, and atmospheric is great, but this is about a particular type of atmosphere. The uncanny, for example, often is something that does the trick for me, or when events in the film could just as well be seen as manifestations of a character's unconscious.
"Surreal" is another word that I tend to avoid in this context, I associate it too much with symbolism, a work that tries hard to make you derive some metaphorical meaning from it, which often takes away from creating a state of dreaming. Maybe in retrospect you can read a dream in terms of symbols, but I’m not interested in this here, I rather want the actual experience of dreaming replicated as vividly as possible.
Also worth mentioning are the (generally metaphysical) concepts that at least in my mind have some overlay with dreaming, so the films here that you may find have no apparent connection to dreams likely relate to one or some of the following things: Subconscious, collective unconscious, death (or rather the afterlife/netherworld), trance, altered states, stream of consciousness.
In approximate order of evocativeness.
List also available at:
https://mubi.com/lists/i-must-be-dreaming
https://letterboxd.com/systematicer/list/i-must-be-dreaming/
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- 163 titles
- DirectorGermaine DulacStarsAlex AllinLucien BatailleGenica AthanasiouObsessed with a general's woman, a clergyman has strange visions of death and lust, struggling against his own eroticism.
- DirectorJonathan MillerStarsAnne-Marie MallikFreda DowieJo Maxwell MullerA girl named Alice falls down a rabbit-hole and wanders into the strange Wonderland.
- DirectorsAlberto CavalcantiCharles CrichtonBasil DeardenStarsMervyn JohnsMichael RedgraveRoland CulverGuests at an English estate recall nightmares.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsRichard ConteJohn LarchSuzanne LloydA fatigued man fights to stay awake as he explains to a psychiatrist that if he falls asleep it will trigger a nightmare, which will cause his heart to fail.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsShelley DuvallSissy SpacekJanice RuleTwo roommates/physical therapists, one a vain woman and the other an awkward teenager, share an increasingly bizarre relationship.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarJacques DumesnilThis documentary explores the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, its priceless treasures, and how humanity remembers itself.
- DirectorMarcel L'HerbierStarsClaude-France AïsséJaque CatelainBaron Byron Khun de ProrakA French chauvinistic propaganda film made during the Great War.
- DirectorToshio MatsumotoStarsKatsuo NakamuraJûrô KaraYasuko SanjoAfter being robbed by a geisha, a ronin warrior carves a bloody path to seek revenge.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKarolina GruszkaKrzysztof MajchrzakGrace ZabriskieAs an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.
- DirectorAkio JissôjiStarsJanet HattaShin KishidaMinori TeradaAfter a number of stressful affairs, a court lady becomes a nun in order to pursue a life without desire.
- DirectorManuel HuergaStarsEulàlia BesJorge de JuanBárbara de Lema
- DirectorPeter TscherkasskyA sunbathing woman has a phantasmagoric vision of ecstasy, derived from various found footage sources.
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsKichiemon NakamuraNobuko OtowaKei SatôTwo women are raped and killed by samurai soldiers. Soon they reappear as vengeful ghosts who seduce and brutally murder the passing samurai.
- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsJulian WestMaurice SchutzRena MandelA drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire.
- DirectorBruce ConnerAn experimental film from Bruce Conner which combines found footage of trains and small towns.
- StarsRuben de FreitasTeresa MadrugaFernando HeitorManuel's fantasy travel through Time goes from Long Ago (Episode 1 - O jardim proibido / Le Jardin interdit) through Now (Episode 2 - O pique-nique dos sonhos / Le Pique-nique des rêves), arriving in the Future (Episode 3 - A pequena champeã de xadrez / La Petite Championne d'échecs).
- DirectorArthur PennStarsWarren BeattyAlexandra StewartHurd HatfieldAfter the mob tries to kill him for an unknown reason, a comedian steals the identity of a homeless man and goes on the run.
- DirectorRichard KernStarsLydia LunchNorman WestbergBrian MoranA woman goes through a series of sexual assignations that involve varying degrees of violence. A voiceover provides her musings on sex, violence, power and control.
- DirectorKaige ChenStarsLeslie CheungGong LiKevin LinNot far from Shanghai, in a country town stands the palatial home of the Pang family. Old Master Pang is an addict who brings up his beautiful daughter Ruyi on opium smoke. Her older brother, Zhengda, is addicted as well, and then paralysed and effectively brain-dead. Zhongliang, Zhengda's brother-in-law, is a successful gigolo in Shanghai who seduces older married women and then blackmails them. When Older Master Pang dies, the clan elders make Ruyi take over the role as the head of the household. Zhongliang returns to the Pang family on the death of Old Master Pang, re-encounters Ruyi, and they are secretly attracted to each other. Wanting to seem sophisticated, she succumbs to Zhongliang's attempts to seduce her. But then an emotional maelstrom follows - for the angry, jealous and sexually frustrated sister (Zhengda's wife) is also part of the picture.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeTrevor Jack BrooksLorelei LinklaterA man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe.
- DirectorsLuigi BazzoniFranco RosselliniStarsPeter BaldwinSalvo RandoneValentina CorteseWhile visiting his favorite resort town during the off-season, a novelist investigates the apparent suicide of a woman he was infatuated with.
- StarsAdriano LuzMaria João BastosRicardo PereiraFollows a jealous countess, a wealthy businessman, and a young orphaned boy across Portugal, France, Italy and Brazil where they connect with a variety of mysterious individuals.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsSusannah YorkRene AuberjonoisMarcel BozzuffiWhilst writing a children's book, a woman interrupted by images unsure if they may, or may not be real
- DirectorBill ViolaStarsAndrei ViolaBlake ViolaWynne Lee ViolaArtist Bill Viola juxtaposes personal pictures of his mother's death with images of his own son's birth to explore foundational and potent themes of beginnings and endings, the cycle of life and the movement of generations.
