Count me in as one of those that "love" this film for quirky personal reasons. There are certain scenes and images in this film that just blow me away or are the very fulfillment of longheld fantasies or dreams half remembered. I was absolutely elated to see some of these things captured on film at last. If you care to read my listing of them, I'll put it at the bottom of this post, so that I can stay on topic here.
***possible SPOILERS alert***
But, as much as *I* like this film, it has been a tough sell to others that I have recommended it to or shown it to. I'd say about 4 out of 5 people react "negatively" or indifferently to the film because it offends their cosmology or views about an afterlife, or, they simply find the subject matter, death within a love story too morose. I think that some are clearly confused by it, like the use of heavenly avatars for their children and mentors. Even I, who appreciate this film, admit that the plot is not ideal in the traditional sense (logical, complete, or that... satisfying... for that matter). It's essentially a film about death afterall. Everyone dies. Even the dog.
Although Robin Williams is a great actor in this, the film suffers slightly from the conflict with the automatic expectation of what a Robin Williams film means i.e. usually frenetic and uproariously funny. The films early scenes reinforce this impression that this will be a comic drama.
And, as I referred to, I think that ending, though nice enough, seems almost anti-climactic and less fully satisfying after all that he went through (literally to Hell and back) and after the family is finally all re-united. I don't know if the filmmakers cared what focus groups would say about this, but it was in this last reel that the movie lost me. Perhaps reincarnation is the best of all outcomes for some, but they must have known that it might alienate others.
There are certain scenes in images in What Dreams May Come that are wonderful and wonderous and stuck with me long after I left the theatre, among them:
-Hell was fanastic! the creepy bodies in the water, the aircraft carrier, the walking on those faces, and my personal favourite, walking on the vaulted ceilings of a Gothic cathedral!
-the picnic by the lake and the cuddling scene were among my favourite romantic images from any film. It definitely made me want to drift on a boat in Switzerland.
-walking through and into a painting has always been a fantasy of mine. Because paintings are two-dimentional, I've been curious, what is just left or right of the Mona Lisa? or what would it be like to walk to that Cafe in Arles? or take a stroll through a Maxfield Parrish landscape? I can think of several other films that do this decently, but this was the most visceral with the squishy sounds of oil paint and brilliant colours.
-the family dog. That scene brings (happy) tears to my eyes. I grew up with a dog as a kid, and to this day, I still occasionally "see" my dog in dreams, and it is the most joyous reunion.
-that neo-classical place with the steps and the flying people (very Terry Gilliam) is like a place I've been in a dream. Another indelible image!
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Great_Gothamite
12 years ago
I just saw the movie this morning. I've been thinking a lot about death and the afterlife lately because I, too, lost a most beloved pet just last week. Of course, none of us alive will know how accurate a depiction of the afterlife this movie is, but I loved that bit with the dog. (When my time comes, I hope my cat and I get reunited. Seems too much of a fantasy, I know, but it's a comforting thought.) I love the concept of paradise as your own personal universe rather than one big happy place where everyone congregates. I thought some parts of the movie were cheesy, though. But I still liked it anyway, more for the afterlife theme than the love story.
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