In John Boorman's short 'I Dreamt I Woke Up', the director describes a personal side of his life in Ireland and reveals some of the hidden roots connecting many of his most memorable films, such as 'Excalibur' and 'Deliverance'. But this is a short film which will divide its audience, as 'Excalibur', 'The General' and many of John Boorman's films have. Watching a film in this category is either like meeting an old friend or being harassed by a stranger, depending on whether you relate to it or not. And this is the point - it's almost impossible and certainly pointless to criticise a film like this. You can't criticise honesty!
The film was originally commissioned by the BBC, and it shows; Boorman has clearly enjoyed being free of commercial concerns and has wilfully abandoned the usual led-by-the-hand narrative necessary for mainstream commercial cinema. Instead, has had created a film which glides between the often bland waking world of concrete facts and simple truths and the often labyrinth and fluid world of dreams and the myths of the soul. Utilising John Hurt, Charlie Boorman and Janet McTeer to play characters from both sides of the divide, Boorman manages to portray some of the perfect ambiguities of the life of dreams and the unconscious.
If all that sounds like nonsense, then this film will definitely be a stranger to you!
