The Dream Catcher

I've watched a whole lot of movies in my life. I'm pretty sure "The Dream Catcher" is the best one I've ever seen.

It's the perfect road movie. It's the perfect lost boys movie. It's the perfect American movie.

It's stuck with me more than any other film. The characters seem more real to me than some people I've actually met. The photography is outstanding, and unlike a typical Hollywood film chock full of grand vistas and long helicopter aerial shots and so on, this shows the real America as we'd see it, from eastern railyards to the empty expanse of the Bonneville Salt Flats.

If you're reading this, please do yourself a favor and see this movie.

What is amazing about this movie is its sensitivity, its patience for nuance, its willingness to tolerate silences, those pauses in conversation when the real communication happens.... We see the characters' faces, the subtle shifts in their expression; we see little details such as the streaks of raindrops on a car window, the little details that make up the fabric of the characters' lives. We listen to their conversations, conversations that develop gradually and resolve not in some punchline but in an open-ended yet meaningful manner. We see cornfields and average American neighborhoods, Midwestern ones on a cloudy day, and gas stations, and diners, and truck-stop restrooms, the kinds of things one normally only sees in real life but not in a movie. We hear the earthy talk of the typical American teenager; we witness the embarrassing sexual bragging of unattractive characters; we witness the warm and peace-pervaded family life on an American Indian reservation: everything in this movie is presented with a subdued, almost documentary-style realism and is yet richly, poetically textured in a way that only a highly artistic feature film, rather than an actual documentary, would typically be. The movie has a European quality about it in its quiet, sensitive poetry, and yet, it is a thoroughly American film that presents Amerian life unmasked, without the typical clichés and packaging in which American life is frequently presented in the media. This film is a must-see.

I was very enthusiastic because the trailer was promising, rich in elements that often appeal to me: the road, life, encounters, emotion. Finally, although the film is very beautiful to watch, with very noble road-movie settings, the story didn't really move me. I had a hard time finding the characters endearing, I think the script doesn't nourish them enough. The dream catcher theme is very little explored while there was a lot to show in that symbolisme In addition, the action is very limited, even non-existent, which makes a double effect of flatness. Too bad because this film could certainly have been much more than that. .

I'm an amateur independent filmmaker and heard about this film showing at the local college theater, so I figured I'd give it a shot, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. The film is very real and honest, but entertaining and humorous at times. This films characters tended to remind of me of people I know, very real and tangible. I recommend anyone to see this movie, and by the end you will be completely engulfed up in the story.

I had the pleasure of studying with one of the writers of this film, Marc Neison, and viewing it with the writers and director. The script born of collaboration proved worth the time and effort, as the finished product really gets you hooked. The nuances behind the characters make you care about them, on many different levels for many different reasons. Overall, there is a mood about this film that, although it covers you in that "I'm Indie" feeling, leaves a mark of a truly thought out, meaningful, well assembled film. If you haven't seen this one, track it down. Guys like Ed Radtke exist on the fringe of the film world, often where the average film-viewer doesn't get to go. These guys put out work that still makes film seem like art. Good stuff.