Racy and steamy films are common, but there’s one film that’s being singled out as a ‘must watch’ due to its unique qualities.
Movies that receive an 18 or top-tier rating are generally expected to be highly violent or contain explicit sexual content. It’s rare for such films to be described as ‘beautiful’ or to have audiences urging others to experience them.
“The Dreamers,” released in 2003, carries an NC-17 rating. It features full frontal nudity alongside themes of incest and violence.
Despite its intense subject matter, the film boasts an impressive cast including Louis Garrel, Michael Pitt, and Eva Green, who gained significant recognition for her role, marking it as her first major acting experience involving intimate scenes.
The film’s synopsis alludes to its romantic and sexual elements within a complicated narrative, stating: “In May 1968, the student riots in Paris only exacerbate the isolation felt by three youths: an American exchange student named Matthew (Michael Pitt) and twins Théo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (Eva Green).
“Having bonded over their mutual love of cinema, Matthew is fascinated by the sense of intimacy shared by Isabelle and Theo, who were born conjoined.
“When the twins’ bohemian parents go away for a month, they ask Matthew to stay at their place, and the three lose themselves in fantasy.”
By ‘fantasy’, it refers to sex, incest, and includes a scene where Eva’s character experiences losing her virginity in the kitchen.
The film is available in two versions: one NC-17 and the other R-rated, with the distinction being a mere three-minute difference between them.
Famed film critic Roger Ebert commented on the film and its dual versions, noting: “So discredited is the NC-17 rating that Fox Searchlight at first thought to edit the film for an R, but why bother to distribute a Bertolucci film except in the form he made it?
“The sexual content evokes that time and place. The movie is like a classic argument for an A rating, between the R and NC-17, which would identify movies intended for adults but not actually pornographic.”
A review on Reddit highlighted ‘the beauty’ of the film, stating: “The thing that grabbed me about this film was for starters the beauty. Bertolucci being an Italian, influenced by new wave french cinema, trying to appeal to a western audience understands the import for beauty. Yet while other director’s find beauty where there is none, for example, a barren landscape or perhaps blood spatter shot in an aesthetically pleasing way, Bertolucci makes beauty essential to the story.”
The reviewer added: “This is an excellent film, anyone who hasn’t seen it must.”
On Instagram, a supporter of the movie shared: “The Dreamers (2003). Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci. A MUST watch!”
On Rotten Tomatoes, where “The Dreamers” has a 59% Tomatometer rating and a 78% Popcornmeter score, opinions are divided. Some are perplexed by the incest plotline, while others commend the film for its ‘eroticism’.
One reviewer commented: “If it weren’t for these three dazzlingly beautiful people and their constant nudity, there would be nothing beyond beauty and eroticism.”
Another remarked: “Erotic and somewhat artistic, but most of the time cringy!”
Conversely, someone else praised the film, saying: “An absolute French classic!! From beginning to end, the movie will give an everlasting impression.” Another viewer shared: “In only 2 hours, this movie made me feel like I’ve lived in their world for the longest time, and this is a feeling I’m not always aware of with other movies.”