Crafted in Moscow by a small group of film enthusiasts on a shoestring budget, Dreamover premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival during pandemic 2021, won Dances With Films in Los Angeles and finally released for a wide public. Dissatisfied with the current state of movies, a small group of five like-minded Russians, decided to fundamentally reimagine cinema from the ground up, relying on their talent and divine providence.
The very fact of the Dreamover release in North America proves that finally they weren’t wrong. “Money is the last thing you need to make a good film!” – boldly states Roman Olkhovka – Dreamover’s director and screenwriter, who has no formal film school education.
And using unpredictable plot twists and the very depth of his mysterious Siberian soul instead of expensive effects, decorations and stars, Olkhovka makes you believe this statement, masterfully shifting the focus from his characters to the viewer himself by asking simple but thought-provoking questions about love and fate, past and future, reality and illusion.
To preserve the audience’s (and the media’s) unalloyed approach to the film, we propose you don’t read any of this and just watch Dreamover. If you must, review this synopsis and then put it out of your mind. Olkhovka, who also stars as Demian in the film, is brought to life in the dreams of an older version of himself, played by Ilya Chepyrev. Dreamover begins with the lonely vision of a man in a dull, quotidian existence who struggles to sleep deeply after a repetitive, bleak workday. To treat his insomnia, he turns to a researcher — after finding an ad card on the subway — who is experimenting with an ingenious method of sleep correction, arguing scientifically that love creates the strongest memories and accessing them helps create serenity.
Watch Dreamover (2021) Trailer
After employing a modicum of technology, Demian finds himself sleeping comfortably and having vivid, beautiful memories of his younger days, particularly with Masha, the lost love of his life, played by Angelina Savchenko. But these memories are dashed by heartbreak and remorse, leaving him lonelier than before and energized to explore another timeline. As he changes his memories, he finds they may also change his current life and future, as one dream and one memory collide with unintended consequences. Now, just forget you read all that.
The non-linear structure of the film, which nevertheless looks quite clear and transparent, leaves a lot of space for the viewer to think through and will certainly reward the most discerning of them with the pleasure of an unexpected discovery, which becomes obvious close to the very end of this simple and at the same time complex story. At the same time, for those who are not used to solving riddles, the film will give an unforgettable journey into special world – fortunately, outstanding cinematography by Dmitriy Zaliskiy and an enveloping soundtrack by English ambient music master Guy Andrews work for this very well.
Nikita Efimov, the film’s producer and Olkhovka’s close associate, regards the very fact of North American release of Russian film as a significant achievement and a positive omen amidst current political tensions. He hopes that Dreamover, with its universal exploration of human emotions and existential brevity, will contribute to bridging the widening divide between the two sides of the same globe and will once again remind us of the fragility and transience of human existence.
