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Dreamland (2019 Canadian film)
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Wikipedia article
'Dreamland' is a Canadian fantasy drama-thriller film, directed by Bruce McDonald and released in 2019.Alex Rose, [https://cultmtl.com/2020/05/bruce-mcdonald-dreamland-is-a-totally-gonzo-film-stephen-mchattie-henry-rollins-juliette-lewis-tomas-lemarquis-review/ "Bruce McDonalds totally gonzo new movie Dreamland needs to be seen"]. 'Cult MTL', May 29, 2020. The film stars Stephen McHattie in a dual role as The Maestro, a jazz musician who has been hired by the Countess (Juliette Lewis) to play at the wedding of her vampire brother (Tmas Lemarquis), and Johnny Deadeyes, a hitman who has been hired by crime boss Hercules (Henry Rollins) to kill the musician.Pat Mullen, [https://thatshelf.com/dreamland-review-wtf-bruce/ "Dreamland Review: WTF Bruce?"]. 'That Shelf', May 30, 2020.
The film has been described as a "spinoff" of McDonald's 2008 film 'Pontypool', in that it jumps off from the post-credits scene in 'Pontypool' in which McHattie and Lisa Houle were depicted in period garb speaking a foreign language.
The film premiered at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in 2019,Joseph Perry, [https://diaboliquemagazine.com/brussels-ifff-review-doppelgangers-vampires-and-killer-kids-inhabit-bruce-mcdonalds-dreamland/ "Brussels IFFF Review: Doppelgngers, Vampires, and Killer Kids Inhabit Bruce McDonalds Dreamland"]. 'Diabolique Magazine', May 6, 2019. and was screened at various film festivals before going into commercial release in 2020.
Production
The film was shot in Belgium and Luxembourg.Todd Gilchrist, [https://variety.com/2020/artisans/production/dreamland-director-bruce-mcdonald-design-team-1234625809/ "Dreamland Director Bruce McDonald on How His Design Team Created a Key Sequence"]. 'Variety', June 5, 2020. Its score was composed principally by Jonathan Goldsmith, although it also includes a jazz-based arrangement of Eurythmics' 1999 single "I Saved the World Today".[https://beatroutemedia.com/dreamland-bruce-mcdonald/ "Vampires & Jazz: In Conversation With Dreamland Director Bruce McDonald"]. 'BeatRoute', June 2020.
Although not named within the film, the character of the jazz musician was loosely based on Chet Baker.Brad Wheeler, "With his strangely dark drama Dreamland, Bruce McDonald wakes up the weirdos: Midnight meets madness in a surrealist exercise in existentialism and deft satire". 'The Globe and Mail', May 29, 2020.
Critical response
Alex Rose of 'Cult MTL' wrote that "Though it would be simple to just call 'Dreamland' second-rate Lynch and leave it at that, theres both more going on here and less lofty ideals than one might expect. Where a lot of these films (recent examples off the top of my head include 'Terminal', 'Passion Play', 'Hotel Artemis' and 'Mute') fail is in their absolute lack of a sense of humour; even the ones that are would-be black comedies tend to fall completely up their own assholes in a smug acceptance of irony as the end-all be-all. 'Dreamland', to its complete and utter benefit, is a film that both wallows in grotesque clichs and seeks to upend them."
For 'That Shelf', Pat Mullen opined that "Theres some promise to the ludicrously violent doppelgnger schadenfreude between the McHatties. However, the all-over-the-map screenplay veers in too many directions. Dreamland evokes the hazy fever of a midnight madness flick. It flows in and out of scenes like a woozy couch potato channel-surfing at 2 AM...'Dreamland' often feels weird simply for the sake of being weird. One can only imagine which drugs had higher potency: the ones that fuelled the screenplay or the ones McDonald downed before reading it."
Chris Knight of Postmedia wrote that "It's the kind of film that would have killed at the Toronto festival's Midnight Madness program, and it may have a harder time finding its audience in the scattered realm of VOD. But its boozy, Chet-Baker-meets-Eurythmics vibe (just wait for The Maestro's closing number) makes it a late-night trip worth taking."Chris Knight, "Vampy vampires; Dreamland follows its own set of rules but it's a voyage well worth taking". 'Saskatoon Star-Phoenix', June 1, 2020.
References
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