The Dream Catcher (1999)

An abandoned teen jumps a freight train in Philadelphia intent on reaching his uncle in Indiana, whom he believes will help him with financial difficulties including a pregnant girlfriend. ... See full summary »

Director:

Ed Radtke

Writers:

M.S. Nieson, Ed Radtke

Stars:

Maurice Compte, Paddy Connor, Jeanne Heaton

9 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maurice Compte	...	Freddy
Paddy Connor	...	Albert
Jeanne Heaton	...	Katherine
Joseph Arthur	...	Freddy's Father
Patrick Shining Elk	...	Caretaker
Larry John Meyers	...	Freddy's Uncle
David Reece	...	Deer Hunter
Leslie Orr	...	Woman at ATM
Amanda Lanier	...	Rhea
Danny Morris	...	Jerry
Buck Truitt	...	Cashier
Sean Wolf Hill	...	Threatening Driver
Michael Conn	...	Pisser
Tom Wamsley	...	Trucker in Bathroom
Rohn Thomas	...	Raymond

Storyline

An abandoned teen jumps a freight train in Philadelphia intent on reaching his uncle in Indiana, whom he believes will help him with financial difficulties including a pregnant girlfriend. In Ohio, he meets another homeless teen, who escorts him to his uncle. Finding his uncle equally broke, the duo head on to Oklahoma City to try to find the first teen's long-gone ex-con father. A confrontation between father and son send the duo on into exploits in the west including getting beaten up, busting into an Indian reservation church, and hitch-hiking with a beautiful nurse.

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Plot Keywords:

indian reservation | oklahoma city | train | church | nurse | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

O oneirokynigos

Filming Locations:

Beavercreek, Ohio, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Society of Lincoln Center, Independent Feature Project, Sundance Channel

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in The Nostalgia Critic: The Langoliers (2011)

User Reviews

One of the best films you may never get to see

Following the screening of this film at the Minneapolis International Film Festival, Ed Radtke, M.S. Nieson, and one of the film's coordinators spoke about the film and answered any questions the audience had. When asked a question about distribution, Radtke unfortunately answered with details about distributors' unwillingness to release a film because it may not be the easiest film to market. That is a shame because this film, the Emerging Filmmaker Competition Grand Prize Winner for Best Narrative Feature, may not be seen by American audiences.

"The Dream Catcher" is a film masterfully shot by the hand of up-and-coming cinematographer Terry Stacey in the vision of writer/director Ed Radtke. Their collaborative vision takes the form of a thoughtful and affecting piece about two young hitchhikers who have taken to the road to escape their individual lives. In doing so, their paths cross, and they eventually decide to take to the road together, although Freddy does so quite reluctantly. The two are masterfully contrasted. Freddy is stoic and a thoughtful, some-time thief, while Albert is talkative and an unremorseful kleptomaniac. Both come from similar backgrounds, and their journey never stray from paths deeply rooted in realism.

This film possesses a quality rarely found in studio films. The characters are tragically real, the direction surprisingly adept, and the cinematography has a quality rarely found on a movie with such a low budget. "The Dream Catcher" is a film that, if you have the chance to see (or even have the most minute chance of affecting the possible distribution of this film in any vein), you should see because it has heart not often found in Hollywood cinema.