MovieChat Forums > Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) Discussion > When does the dream sequence actually be...

When does the dream sequence actually begin?

posted 11 years ago by godzillatemple
12 replies | jump to latest

"Have you ever slept on a boat before? It really affects your dreams. I look forward to it, even though sometimes the dreams really shake me up."

After much reflection, I've come to the conclusion that the only way this movie makes sense is if much of the second half is a dream that Joe is having. The first half of the film is at least more or less believable, but after Patricia tells him about dreams on his first night on the boat, things start to get very weird.

The only thing I can't decide is when, exactly, the dream begins. On one hand, it's possible that the dream begins that very night and everything that happens later (including the ship wreck) is part of the dream. Minor evidence of this would be the silliness with the hammerhead shark while fishing, and major evidence would be the fact that the lightning bolt that sinks the ship is the exact same shape as the logo of the company where Joe worked. If this is the case, Joe probably got to the island safely and probably threw himself in to die without ever falling in love with Patricia.

On the other hand, it's possible that the dream began after the shipwreck when Joe was floating on the luggage with Patricia. The main evidence for this is that nothing truly weird happened until after that point, hammerhead shark and weirdly shaped lightning bolt notwithstanding. If this is the case, however, Joe and Patricia probably died out in the middle of the ocean somewhere. I lean toward this theory, personally, since it makes sense that Joe would be having fever dreams while dying of thirst on a raft in the middle of the ocean.

Any thoughts?

[–] flowerythethird 11 years ago

lol

" Super Bowl XLVIII will be most evenly-matched Super Bowl in 32 years"- AH_Fan

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kaphawoman 10 years ago

I believe it begins when he's at home and gets the knock on his door about sacrificing himself. I think quitting his job was real, and the date with DeDe was real. If the date had been part of his dream then DeDe wouldn't have rejected him. He could be dreaming, in a coma, or dead.

[–] LetheL 10 years ago

It's not a dream. You're trying to make it fit into a realistic framework. It's meant to be a fable. A story with a moral. And in fables, things usually do get silly, but all in point of the moral.

Lethe

[–] LetheL 10 years ago

[–] Rupert_Pupkin1 10 years ago

So true, you posted it twice

[–] Mr-Brain 9 years ago

Here's something to consider: If nothing in the movie is a dream, then everyone in the second half of the movie except for two characters dies, making this one of the deadliest movies of all time.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 10 years ago

It's a fantasy film. Therefore, it's not necessary to assume that there is a dream sequence at all.

But for those who want to believe that a dream sequence exists here, I would say it begins when he gets the knock on his apartment door, the day after quitting his job....

~~
JimHutton (1934-79) and ElleryQueen

[–] MorganRand 9 years ago

I agree that the film is allegory/fable, but there definitely is that moment of separation when opportunity literally knocks on Joe's door. It's the through-the-looking-glass point for him.

Even if you think Joe imagined everything after that (which is why all the girls look like DeDe, everything is surreal, etc.), the point is still that he came to understanding.

After all, it could be argued that the true climax of these events for Joe was when he quit his job, made his rant at Mr. Waturi, and asked DeDe for a date. The major theme is delivered to us right there, clear as day, ten minutes into the movie, with Joe admitting that he's been too afraid to live. This is the turning point for Joe. The entire rest of the film could be seen as denoument, really...

So, was Joe fantasizing this amazing and bizarre adventure? Doesn't matter. ;D

[–] hyperblue1 9 years ago

nailed it

[–] rstabosz-1 10 years ago

No dream sequence . It's a fairy tale- starts out "Once upon a time there was a guy named Joe..." And ends, "And they lived happily ever after."

Everything that happened is legitimate in a fairy tale narrative.

[–] russfro (113) a year ago

How about when he covers his eyes at the office after DeDe asks him “What is wrong with you?”
The next scene at the Dr. Ellison’s office starts with him still covering his eyes the same way the previous scene ended, suggesting an instantaneous shift to his inner fantasy or daydream, where he has the courage he lacks in his real life.

Although, it is interesting the parallel between his job as a firefighter and jumping into a fiery volcano at the end. What if he died going back for that third child and the movie was a death dream or purgatory afterward.

The movie seems to contain a pastiche of other movies - Metropolis, Brazil, The Poseidon Adventure ? A podcast I listened to mentioned a connection between the island’s infatuation with soda and the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy.