Kvinden der drømte om en mand (2010) User Reviews

Sweet Dreams

[kosmasp · 4/10 · 7 June 2011]

The spoilers will only appear in the last paragraph, though I'm guessing that for some, those wouldn't even count as spoilers. But let's start with the good things. The movie has a really nice cinematography going for it. The main actress tries her best and really puts herself out there for the viewer.

Unfortunately the story (more on that on the next/last paragraph) does not hold up to any of that. Though it almost drifts into the erotic film category, it still remains a thriller with a sour taste.

Now the spoilers beginning with a comparison. It doesn't flatter the movie, but even Fatal Attraction had more suspense going for it (and that was very straightforward in pointing out the villain and the protagonist). While the main character isn't a good guy here, our woman is behaving as crazy as one can imagine. Which brings up the question, why he wouldn't cut her loose way earlier. If the picture the movie is painting is correct, he should've seen the signs. The dreams and the twist ending give it a little edge. But not enough to really put it in a category that the director would have loved to see it (imho)

Chronicle of an obsessive affair

[TdSmth5 · 21 August 2011]

K is a danish photographer, she is married and has a daughter. While working in Paris she sees a man and follows him. He catches her and she explains that she has a recurring dream about him where he commits suicide in a hotel. They begin an affair. When she is sent to work in Poland she tracks him down even though this time around she took her family with her on the trip. He's a Polish professor, married and with a daughter. Then he follows her to her hotel. He gives her a key to an apartment right across where he lives. Eventually her husbands catches on to things and they break up. Meanwhile she installs herself in the apartment and spends her time watching him and following him to work. Eventually he gets tired of her and tries to break things up but she won't accept, until he shows her that the uses the apartment for all of his affairs.

This movie is stylish and well directed. The script lacks though. The two lovers don't share anything but sex really, they don't talk much and know little about each other. Now this could very well be how affairs are for Scandinavian women--in the end credits the writer/director thanks all the women who have shared their stories with him--but it doesn't make for a compelling movie. One doesn't even see the need for an affair, at least for her. She seems most happy when she is working. We don't even see her smile during the affair. One thinks that the whole dream issue will somehow contribute to the story, but it doesn't overtly. The most important line is uttered by the Polish man when he tells her that he isn't the man of her dreams. No one is the person of someone else's dreams. In dreams, or rather day-dreams and fantasies, we idealize people and then expect the other person to conform to that ideal--which never happens. I think in a way that's what the movie is trying to tell us with the dream sub-story.

While not perfect, this movie is a must see for cheaters and would-be cheaters. For the rest of us, there isn't much here but a sense of emptiness that isn't even filled by the movie's style.

Irrationality reigns supreme

[leburger · 1/10 · 8 October 2010]

While i have to admit that the setting this film has is memorable in a way (a few atmospheric shots of Paris and Prague), and there's Nyqvist, who always manages all his roles in such an authentic manner, but in the end, those are more or less the only upsides this film has.

When you watch art-house cinema, you shouldn't expect too much from the characters. In most cases the portraits are supposed to be rather life- like, and in reality some personality types just are more difficult to comprehend, which means not just everyone connects to them on a personal level, and we can only assume the background of a certain behaviour.

But in this case, in "Kvinden der drømte om en mand", the main antagonists are just way beyond any reason. What was the female lead thinking? Was she somewhat disturbed? Why did she act the way she did? We're given no reasons nor explanations whatsoever. Was her marriage really that hopeless? No, it really didn't seem this way to me. Although the marriage scenes were a bit bland, we're given no hints of anything extraordinarily ominous or repressing. Neither manages the film to convince us it happened all because of some sort of a "love from the first sight." This seems just so unplausible. So what we are left with but a portrayal of irrational and random behaviour, absolutely horrid female lead role, and a meaningless ending? Not too much, i'm afraid!

If you are inclined to watch a cold danish movie on a topic similar to this, just do yourself a favour and get "Prag" instead. Terrific actors and a lot more convincing storyline. Actually, i consider "Prag" one of the best danish movies of all time.

Is Lars von Trier hates women, what does this director do?

[arf-9 · 1/10 · 17 June 2010]

Is Lars von Trier hates women, what does this director do? Sadly this is not my line.

This tells the story that men just want sex and women a furstrating maniac with no rime or reason. They are no explanation for K desire, but that do not matter. 20 sec into the move you will hate K. She is a person with no feelings and no sense of her job or people. The sex in the film is impossible to buy and her actions are never made clear.

The fact that she is a photographer is never put to any use. and oddly enough the camera work is really bad. It out of focus, but not in a good way, in the way of a focus puller wondering what the hell just happened. The lighting looks like it's done by a good ligthguy with 3 monkeys strapet to his back and legs.

The classic escalation of nudity is boring. And why is that we a to understand all her feelings with the way she stands in a room, but the director don't think we understand what simple text she gets on her phone, it's has to be pasted all over the place.

So to finalise. Men just want sex, women don't know what they want, camera work can't be done by one man and audiences is more clever then a producer.

This is about women and sex and after this film you will avoid both, like if you avoid meat after a trip to a slaughter house. Luckily meat rules and after a few weeks you will look at woman again.

Danish David Lynch-ian thriller about obsession

[MdlndeHond · 8/10 · 23 July 2010]

I have to say spoiler because i do reveal some parts of the storyline but nothing of all the twists and plots.

For some reason people get very defensive on movies about infidelity and rate them low. It could have something to do with the fact that this happens more often to people than, say, a zombie apocalypse and therefore it is closer to home and more frightening.

Story: The beautiful successful photographer Karen, magnificent performance of Sonja Richter, living the dream with a loving supporting husband (Michael Nyqvist)and daughter, meets the man of her dreams on a job in Paris. Literally man of her dreams as she dreamed confusing dreams about this man prior to their meeting.

A claustrophobic thriller with a David Lynch-ian twist with the reoccurring dream and a perfect circle of events. If you liked this you will also want to see Damage (Juliette Binoche and Jeremy Irons) and Polanski's Bitter Moon.

Excellent Character Study

[joelebrun2003 · 9/10 · 27 July 2010]

This movie is a great character study that brings you under the skin of the two protagonists. One might have some criticism for the depth or quality of the dialogue, but dialogue is not what this film is about. It is about the emotions and the dreams, the tustles that the protagonists face within their inner selves and with those around them. These are transposed through the visuals rather than the dialogue. While the pace may be slow for some viewers, the crescendo and the climax are perfectly dosed creating a sublimely atmospheric piece of art-house cinema. I strongly recommend this movie to all lovers of true cinema.