Final Rating: 3/5
Dreams, the latest drama from Mexican director Michel Franco (see our review of Memory) stars Jessica Chastain as Jennifer McCarty, a wealthy socialite living in San Francisco. She runs her family’s foundation which does all kinds of charitable work, with the help of her father Michael (Marshall Bell) and brother Jake (Rupert Friend).
Through the course of her work with the foundation, she had met Fernando (Isaac Hernández), a young, very talented ballet dancer with whom she begins an affair with. This comes to light shortly into the story as, at the beginning of the film, Fernando along with an 18 wheeler full of others, sneaks across the Texas border and makes his way back to her in San Francisco.
Fernando then uses his talents to get into the San Francisco ballet company and try to re-establish his life in America. He had been in New York dancing previously, but was deported back to Mexico and is now struggling to get his papers to remain in the US. While the dance scenes are well done, and the performers very talented, several of the more powerful scenes involve ICE detention centres. They are the most affecting and the type of scene we see play out daily now in the US.
During the opening scene they wait helplessly to be freed from the truck on the other side of the border. The human element and drama involved is on full display, but not as visceral throughout the rest of the story. When dealing with Jennifer and Fernando’s relationship it never quite hits these same emotional notes. They meet up and try to have a normal existence, but this seemingly isn’t possible given her position and the circumstances. He works menial jobs to pay the bills, as do many when first arriving in the US, and has to be careful to avoid raids from the authorities only too happy to gather up illegals.
Without getting into specific spoiler territory, the final act takes a darker turn and the flipping of the power dynamics is certainly very effective in illustrating the issues at hand, even if eventually cynicism seems to own the day. It’s a story of betrayal, and how conveniently Jennifer views their relationship. It’s a necessary commentary on immigration, as we see cases of many individuals who are willing to accept the benefits of these relationships but turn their back the second it becomes problematic or involves them doing anything to truly help. This comes to a head when Fernando is sent back home to Mexico by authorities.
While the issue is a precinct one, much of the disseminating is done through exposition and there is a lack of real connection at times between the characters, save the physical one often exhibited. The wealthy family is of course not happy that Jennifer is seeing this young man, and he is of course tired of being kept in the shadows from the rest of her life, wanting a more fulfilling relationship.
Jennifer attempts to convince him to stay in Mexico as it’s easier for their relationship, though this sentiment is more self-serving than anything as it can shield her from the society life in San Francisco truly knowing about them, getting the best of both worlds. We get snippets of the family dynamic but it never truly comes to a head in any significant manner, or perhaps she was just unwilling to confront them in this regard.
It will be a challenging watch for many as the subject matter and specific scenes may be triggering, but ultimately it’s the kind of story that is important in that it raises a relevant social issue that will generate conversation and a reaction. The narrative is not afraid to look at what’s going on and force us to confront that, which is after all, all we can hope our art can do.
Dreams was seen during the 2025 Genre Gems Film Festival.
