THE DREAMERS

Bernardo Bertolucci sets THE DREAMERS in Paris in 1968, at the moment just before student protests and political unrest erupt into the streets. Three young cinephiles retreat into an apartment, sealing themselves off from reality through cinema, games, and increasingly transgressive intimacy.

The film is saturated with nostalgia for both cinema and youth. Bertolucci weaves film history directly into the characters’ identities, using references, reenactments, and clips as emotional shorthand. At the same time, the outside world presses in, forcing a confrontation between fantasy and political responsibility.

Often divisive, the film remains one of Bertolucci’s most personal late works. It asks whether immersion in art is a form of resistance or a refusal to engage. The answer remains unresolved.